The Animation and VFX Artists Association of Nepal (AVAAN) held the ‘Animeet 01’ on June 20 at the Film Development Board Hall, Chabahil, announcing the launch of the AVAAN Animation Film Festival (AAFF 2026), scheduled for October this year.

The event was chaired by Bikram Manandhar, president of AVAAN, with Dinesh DC, chairman of the Film Development Board, attending as chief guest.

‘Maile Dekheko Nepal (My Nepal reimagined)’ is the theme for this year's film festival, with submissions now open for animated and VFX based short films spanning from two to ten minutes.

Animation Film Festival 2026 welcomes submissions from both national and international participants.

The event showcased a video of 12 artists and animators from all over Nepal working in the global animation industry, a way to highlight the country’s growing presence within animation.

Additionally, the festival's official mascot, named ‘Aaffey’, was unveiled by Dinesh DC (Nepali Film director). Aaffey is designed based on the Danfe, Nepal's national bird, with creative inspiration drawn from the legendary artist Arniko, representing the colourful spirit of Nepali artists.

“Similar to the IT industry, there are numerous talented animators living in Nepal and working on outsourced projects for AAA game studios (high-budgeted studios) and leading animation studios. But we have failed to recognise them because animation as an industry is not established yet. AVAAN aims to work in policy at a high level closely with the government to make sure these artists and their contributions become noticed," says Aneel Neupane, secretary general of the institution and director at Jazz Productions.

Despite the Nepali film industry’s growing usage of VFX and CGI in movies, there still remains a gap in execution. Film professionals are yet to become proficient in animation. AAVAN’s initiative aims to address the issue, while creating locally produced content and movies.