This year’s program draws primarily from the 2025 Prix Ars Electronica submissions, which recently marked a significant shift from traditional computer animation toward the expansive realm of New Animation Art. The festival embraces artists who push the boundaries of the medium, offering innovative and experimental visual narratives. Highlighted programs—including the Prix Ars Electronica Best-Of, the thematic program PANIC – yes/no, and Austrian Panorama—celebrate the medium’s rich diversity and dynamic range.
Out of 1,119 submissions in the Prix category New Animation Art, around 25 projects have been selected to be showcased. Additionally, the program includes the yearly Young Animations, celebrating talented filmmakers up to the age of 19 with a selection of short films submitted to the Prix in the u19–create your world category. This year’s selection is further complemented by three guest programs curated by PROYECTOR Festival, the Animationsinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, and the Hagenberg Campus of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. Alongside the screenings, Ars Electronica Animation Festival features several award-winning artists presenting their work in person at the Deep Space 8K and in the Seminar Room of the Ars Electronica Center. Alessandro Bavari, Alona Rodeh, Wendy Yan, and Total Refusal will share their films and engage in conversations with the audience.
Ars Electronica Animation Festival Trailer - Photo: Lea Obermair
Collection
Ars Electronica Animation Festival 2025
A collaboration between Ars Electronica and the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, curated by Juergen Hagler and Daniela Duca De Tey
Ars Electronica Center, Level -1, Seminar Room
Language //
EN, DE, nonverbal
Ticket //
FREE / No Ticket
Prix Ars Electronica Best-Of
Erick Oh (US), Lau Wai (HK), Yu Shien Yang & Jin Keon (TW), fleuryfontaine (FR), Total Refusal (AT)
Prix Ars Electronica Best-Of is a compilation of outstanding animations selected by the jury from submissions to the New Animation Art category of Prix Ars Electronica 2025. The program features one Award of Distinction and four Honorary Mentions.
Austrian Panorama
Celine Pham (AT), Jolanda Abasolo (AT), Victoria Wolfersberger (AT), Juergen Hagler (AT), Stefan Krische (AT), Stefanie Schwarzwimmer (AT/DE), Dagmar Schürrer (AT/DE)
Austrian Panorama presents recent Austrian animation works—from AI-driven art reinterpretations to pieces addressing xenophobia, propaganda, neoliberalism, and our hybrid digital-organic reality—offering experimental and satirical reflections on society and identity.
PANIC
Jo Roy (CA), Niceaunties (SG), Ulu Braun (DE), Zhuyuan Liu (CN), Matthieu Mantovani (FR), Alona Rodeh (IL/RO), Mihai Grecu (RO), Laen Sanches (FR), Total Refusal (AT)
The works compiled for the thematic program PANIC carry echoes of social collapse, ecological decline, and existential dread. Featuring a mix of synthetic, AI-generated visions of catastrophe with more poetic and introspective CGI works, game engine aesthetics, and collage-like animations.
Young Animations
A collaboration between Ars Electronica and OeAD, curated by Sirikit Amann (AT)
Young Animations presents a selection of short films created by artists aged 19 and under, submitted this year to the Prix Ars Electronica in the category u19—create your world.
Special Screening Boris Labbé
Boris Labbé (FR)
Boris Labbé, Award of Distinction winner at the 2025 Prix Ars Electronica (New Animation Art), presents four experimental animations blending hand-drawn watercolors and digital art. His works mesmerizingly explore language, geology, textile traditions, and digital surveillance.
Guest Program I: PROYECTOR
Simón García-Miñaúr (ES), Bob Bicknell-Knight (UK), Xavi Bou (ES), Petra Mrša (HR)
PROYECTOR, a platform and festival based in Madrid, Spain, is dedicated to showcasing experimental moving images. This curated selection features four video works interconnected by themes of perception, technology, artificiality, and emotional dissonance.
Guest Program II: Animationsinstitut Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Pascal Schelbli (CH), Tim Markgraf (DE), Gwenola Heck (DE), Carol Ratajczak (DE), Tobias Trebeljahr (DE), Mona Keil (DE), Sebastian Selg (DE), Matisse Gonzales (BO), Erica Esserman (US), Malte Hartlieb (DE), Tobias Eckerlin (DE), Pascal Floerks (DE), Bianca Scali (FR), Leszek Plichta (PL), Roman Kälin (CH), Falko Paeper (DE), Florian Wittmann (DE)
The Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, one of the world’s leading educational institutions in Animation, Visual Effects, Technical Directing, and Interactive Media presents a curated screening of animated short films by students.
Guest Program III: Expanded Frames – Campus Hagenberg
Dominik Senzenberger, Mia Cain, Moritz Höll, J.S. Schönbauer, Lisa Bayr, Leonie Roithner, Katharina Arbeithuber, Lukas Brandstetter, Anna Reiff, Philipp Guggenberger, Daniel Denzer, Marius Oelsch, Rita Weiss, Alessa Wolfram, Maximilian Wöß, Jeannine Neunteufl, Lisa Wohlschlager, Sarah Michelitsch, Wiktoria Olborski, Celine Pham, J.S. Schönbauer, Leo Sametinger, Olivia Lehnert, L. Wohlschlager, Alissa Calliari, Bettina Reisigl, Melanie Witzmann, Jakob Aigner, Florian Winkler, Vivian Wolf, Patrick Schrödl, Jascha Hanisch, Florian Winkler (AT)
Students from the Digital Arts programs at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria present animated shorts using techniques from stop motion to AI. This curated screening highlights experimental storytelling and innovative production by a new generation of animators.
Meet the artist: Alessandro Bavari
Alessandro Bavari (IT)
Pioneer of experimental animation, Alessandro Bavari, presents a recent AI-generated film together with Metachaos (2010), the short film that earned him a Golden Nica. The session explores how his artistic language has evolved across media and time.
Meet the artist: Collective Total Refusal
Total Refusal (AT)
Winners of an Honorary Mention at this year’s Prix Ars Electronica in the New Animation Art category, the pseudo-Marxist media guerrilla Total Refusal will present their latest work World at Stake, which offers a sharp reflection on collective inertia in the face of global crisis.
Meet the artist: Alona Rodeh
Alona Rodeh (IL/RO)
Alona Rodeh, artist, scenographer, and urban planner, is renowned for her nuanced engagement with public space—especially the city at night. Rodeh will present her awarded work CORE DUMP, alongside two additional works: Fogging (2025) and Runway Freefall (2022–2024).
Animation Festival Outdoors Screening
The 2025 Ars Electronica Animation Festival offers a platform to explore the latest developments in digital animation art. This curated selection brings together highlights from across the festival’s programs, including one of this year’s Golden Nica winners and two Honorary Mentions from the Prix Ars Electronica.
Credits
Alessandro Bavari (IT), Bob Bicknell-Knight (UK), Xavi Bou (ES), Ulu Braun (DE), fleuryfontaine (FR), Simón García-Miñaúr (ES), Mihai Grecu (RO), Stefan Krische (AT), Boris Labbé (FR), Zhuyuan Liu (CN), Matthieu Mantovani (FR), Petra Mrša (HR), Niceaunties (SG), Erick Oh (US), Alona Rodeh (IL/RO), Jo Roy (CA), Laen Sanches (FR), Dagmar Schürrer (AT/DE), Stefanie Schwarzwimmer (AT/DE), Total Refusal (AT), Lau Wai (HK), Wendi Yan (CN/US), Yu Shien Yang & Jin Keon (TW), Celine Pham, Jolanda Abasolo, Victoria Wolfersberger & Juergen Hagler (AT)
Please note: The program for the Ars Electronica Festival 2025 is still in progress.
We are currently preparing all the information for the website and plan to put the full program online in the coming days – stay tuned!