SCAD AnimationFest is marking its 10th anniversary this week with a three-day run in Midtown Atlanta that mixes major studio sneak peeks with a brand-new competition showcasing rising animators through animated shorts. The festival runs September 23 through 25 at SCAD Atlanta, 1600 Peachtree St. NW, bringing together industry professionals, students, and animation fans for screenings, presentations, and panel discussions.
Among the new additions this year is the Indie Animation Shorts Competition, which requires films to have been completed after May 1, 2025, according to FilmFreeway. Atlanta News First reports that the contest accepts animated projects under five minutes and was created to showcase short-form narrative vision and technical skill from rising animators. One featured entry takes a distinctly hands-on approach.
That entry, The Tooth Seed, was made by recent SCAD graduate Cecilia Mendoza, who built handcrafted puppets for the stop-motion short, per the same Atlanta News First report. Her work reflects a broader shift at SCAD Atlanta, which has expanded its animation curriculum to include a dedicated stop-motion minor, the station notes. SCAD professor of animation Matt Maloney also discussed the festival's growth and the evolving animation landscape, the station reports.
Studio Heavyweights and a Milestone Award Season
This year's festival lineup leans heavily on major studio previews, including exclusive sneak peeks at Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's The Cat in the Hat and LAIKA's upcoming stop-motion feature Wildwood, along with a special screening of Paramount's Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender featuring director Lauren Montgomery, according to Animation World Network. Industry participation extends further still, with studio executives and creatives from Pixar, DreamWorks, LAIKA, Marvel Animation, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Bento Box Entertainment, and Walt Disney Imagineering all taking part, per Georgia Entertainment.
The anniversary edition also comes with honors attached. The Proud Family executive producers Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar are receiving the Animation Trailblazer Award for the series' 25th anniversary, while DreamWorks filmmaker Joel Crawford, director and writer of the upcoming Forgotten Island, is being given Variety's Impact in Animation Award, Animation World Network reports.
A National Trade Panel Comes to Campus
Variety's “10 Animators to Watch” panel, first launched in 2015, is making its SCAD AnimationFest debut this year, hosted by Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis and featuring creators including SCAD alumnus Tilly Fidler, according to a SCAD event listing. The panel will discuss creative journeys, artistry, innovation, and animation's future.
The festival is hosted at SCADshow, located at 1470 Spring Street NW, per the university's event page.
Why Atlanta Keeps Landing Major Animation Talent
Georgia offers a 20% to 30% transferable tax credit for qualifying productions that spend at least $500,000 in qualified Georgia expenditures, with no state-level annual program cap, according to Storiara. An additional 10% uplift is available for productions that meet promotional requirements, giving studios extra incentive to build relationships with local talent pipelines like SCAD's.
The spotlight in Midtown belongs to SCAD AnimationFest's 10th anniversary, where handcrafted puppets and Hollywood studio previews are sharing the same stage through Friday.
