40 years of Kecskemét Animation Film Festival
If KAFF is the celebration of Hungarian animated film, then in 2025, this forum of celebration itself deserves to be celebrated: its imaginary birthday cake has no less than forty candles glowing on it. The origin of Hungary’s first animation film festival—which is also one of our most prestigious film festivals—reaches back to the foundation of Pannónia Film Studio’s Kecskemét Studio. The intention to organize the festival was conceived in 1971, but the first event—at the time called a “film showcase”—was not realized until 1985. Ferenc Mikulás especially urged the organization of the festival, and he was right in thinking that this initiative was going to hold value for both the profession and the county seat.
Since 1993, the event bears its current name, Kecskemét Animation Film Festival—marked by the emblematic acronym KAFF—, and stands as a local and national success story of creating cultural tradition. Its merits in tourism are just as indisputable as it grew to be an event of crucial importance for the animation profession: it maps out and assesses the current developments and achievements of Hungarian animated film making, and it maintains and builds international relationships. From the very beginning, the Festival has placed great emphasis on presenting the history of Hungarian animation to its audience through retrospective screenings, commemorations, talks and more. KAFF’s internationality is just as significant a part of its image. The Festival invites the cream of animated film making from the whole world into the famous city of Kecskemét: since 1993, one of the five jury members, and since 1999, one of the three pre-selection committee members has been foreign. We had the opportunity to welcome numerous masters of animation in Kecskemét, from Yuri Norstein to Priit Pärn, Piotr Dumała, Paul Driessen, Jimmy T. Murakami, to Ishu Patel— just to mention a few of these excellent artists.
While at the beginning KAFF was organized every three years, since 2005, it has welcomed its visitors every other year, and its range of programmes has also grown wider over the years: in addition to Hungarian animation, it now has matching competition sections for European animation offering a selection of feature films (since 1996), TV specials (since 2002) and series (since 2017). Thanks to the international panorama programmes, the Festival has mapped out the world of animation and the animation of the world continent after continent: visitors have had the chance to marvel at animated works from Asia, South America, Australia and Africa.
With its wide selection of programmes—including concerts, book premieres, projection mapping and more—KAFF’s circle of attraction reaches far beyond the small professional world of animation. Considered one of the most prominent animation festivals of the world, KAFF offers the screenings and events in the festival programme without an admission fee to its guests, and the animated films are shown not only in Kecskemét, but the surrounding smaller municipalities too. Festival director Ferenc Mikulás and his team is guided by the motto phrased for the 10th KAFF in 2011, after a famous statement of Zoltán Kodály: ‘Let animation belong to everyone!’
The 17th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival will take place from 27 May to 1 June 2025. We are continuously providing information about the preparations and the programmes of KAFF on our website and Facebook-page.
