GIRAF 22 – International Festival of Independent Animation
Quickdraw Animation Society (QAS) is accepting submissions to the 22nd GIRAF International Festival of Independent Animation.
The organizers are looking for animation submissions, in all styles, genres, lengths, and mediums, to present to their audience in Calgary, Canada.
Selected films for 2026 will be presented during GIRAF 22 and the best International and Canadian short film will be awarded.
The annual Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival (GIRAF) presents independent animation that pushes boundaries through the use of new techniques, unique visions, and stimulating subject matter.
Submitted films can be abstract or narrative, hand-drawn or computer-generated, student films or well-established professionals, or somewhere in between – excluding commercial work!
There are definitely commercials, trailers, mo-graph pieces etc that we love, but commercials, explainers, festival stingers and those sorts of things fall outside Quickdraw Animation Society’s mandate. The festival is also aimed at an adult audience, so children’s films aren’t the right fit. Music videos are admittedly a bit of a grey area; we don’t book them very often but have made exceptions in the past.
GIRAF is an annual animation festival that runs each November at the Globe Cinema in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Incorporated in 1984, the Quickdraw Animation Society (QAS) serves as a fulcrum for independent artists and the larger community with progressive artistic and community-based initiatives.
GIRAF believes in the payment of artist fees for all selected filmmakers. Artists will be paid a screening fee of approximately $80CAD for the presentation of their film at GIRAF.
We have two juried prizes, for best Canadian short film and best International short film. Funds raised through FilmFreeway submissions will go towards a cash prize for these two awards, which in 2025 worked out to approx. $200CAD for each of the winners-although we still encourage you to submit for free at http://giraffest.ca. Because the prize is based on submissions, we won’t know the total value until submissions close.
Application deadline: August 04, 2026