More Than 300 Films—The 17th KAFF Kicks Off in One Week

More than 300 films will be screened at the 17th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival (KAFF), which starts in just one week. This year’s event, expanded to six days and taking place from May 27 to June 1, also marks the festival’s 40th anniversary. The guest of honor in 2025 is Nordic Animation. Their works reveal that themes such as love and sex, power and passion, body and pain are timeless across the Nordic countries.

The multidisciplinary event will feature films that have won awards at the world’s most prestigious festivals — including the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Annecy. In addition to ten feature-length competition films, audiences can enjoy six more full-length animated features in cinemas, and five more at outdoor screenings.

Beyond the films, the festival organizes six book launches and seven exhibitions.
All programs at KAFF are free of charge.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, this year’s KAFF promises its most vibrant program to date. Running from May 27 to June 1, the festival will screen more than 300 films.

The competition section will feature several standout titles, including Flow by Gints Zilbalodis, which won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and European Film Award for Best Animated Feature this year. Also competing is The Most Precious of Cargoes, directed by Oscar-winner Michel Hazanavicius, which premiered at Cannes last year and was produced in collaboration with Kecskemétfilm. Another highlight is Savages by Oscar-nominated Claude Barras, which received an award at the Locarno Film Festival.

In addition to the eight feature-length films in competition, another six full-length animated films will be screened in cinemas. Berry and Dolly, Into the Wonderwoods, Fox and Hare Save the Forest, Tales from the Magic Garden, and Robot Dreams are primarily aimed at children, while Black Butterflies targets a more mature audience. The latter tells the story of three women from different corners of the world who face the same struggle: climate change. As global warming forces them to lose everything, they must migrate in order to survive.

Meanwhile, on Kecskemét’s main square, open-air screenings on a giant screen will feature cult classics such as Toldi—the final film by Marcell Jankovics—along with Family Legends, No-White, Saffi - The Treasure of Swamp Castle, and Les Maîtres du temps (The Time Masters).

The guest of honour at the 17th KAFF is Nordic Animation, the professional advocacy organization representing the animation industries of the Nordic countries. Audiences will be shown three curated blocks of films that offer a unique insight into recurring themes in animation from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.

One prominent theme is a kind of existential anxiety laced with melancholic humour, rooted in the paradox of living in well-functioning social democracies—societies where the struggle for survival has already been won by previous generations. The selection also features works that reflect on the region’s legacy of sexual liberation and gender equality. Themes such as love and sex, power and passion, body and pain remain timeless in Nordic storytelling.

Five new book launches will be held as part of KAFF’s professional program. Among them is The Filmmakers’ Guide (Filmkészítők kézikönyve) by Dr. Tamás Kollarik and Dr. Sándor Takó — the first Hungarian-language legal, business, and production guide, richly illustrated and specifically designed for filmmakers.

The Future of Hungarian Animation Education (A magyar animációoktatás jövője), a long-needed writing — co-authored by Dr. Zsolt Cseporán, Dr. Tamás Kollarik, and Zsolt Petri — also debuts at the festival.

Film historian Zoltán Varga presents his fourth solo publication, Hungarian Animation Director Portraits (Magyar animációs rendezőportrék), which highlights the careers of seven renowned Hungarian creators: Líviusz Gyulai, Ferenc Cakó, István Orosz, Éva M. Tóth, Gábor Ulrich, László Csáki, and Réka Bucsi.

Two new book by Sándor Kertész will also be launched at KAFF. Jankó—Comic Biographies (Jankó-kép-regényes életrajzok) is a richly illustrated work presenting the life and times of János Jankó, considered the father of Hungarian caricature from the 18th century, also offering insights into the press and political landscape of the era.

Unseriousness – Líviusz Gyulai: A Caricaturist (Komolytalanság — A karikaturista Gyulai Líviusz) edited by Kati Gyulai, is accompanied by a related exhibition celebrating the artist’s unique legacy, and another exhibition will complement the DIA Book – The History of Hungarian Slide Film Production (DIAkönyv – A magyar diafilmgyártás története), which is released to mark the 70th anniversary of Hungary’s Diafilmgyártó Studio.

An exhibition will look back on the 40-year history of the Kecskemét Animation Film Festival. Other highlights include 4SZOBOSZLAY, showcasing the artistic works of Péter Szoboszlay and his three children, and Walks (Séták), an exhibition by animation artist Péter Bogyó.

Two acclaimed animated films will also be accompanied by special exhibitions: one dedicated to The Quest, based on the classic literary work by Mihály Vörösmarty, and another exploring the creation of the multi-award-winning Pelikan Blue.

The 17th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival takes place from May 27 to June 1, and all programs are free of charge.