If you miss this animation festival this August 21-22, you may have to wait another two years to attend! Held every 2 years, ASIFA-South International Animation Society is back with its 5th ASIFAC Animation Festival and Conference, bigger than ever. Join our two-day animation festival and conference hosted at Georgia State Creative Media Industries Institute and Cinefest Theater, made free to the public possible thanks to our sponsors and community.
In line with this year’s theme “Pixel in Play”, focused on fun and whimsy, they are not only back with an array of panels, roundtable discussions, signature animation screenings, and workshops, but also an addition of a GAME JAM. The event will take place across all 3 floors of the CMII Building and include a studio tour on the volumetric stage with a mo-cap demo by Laura Baptie, who worked on Disney’s live-action “Moana,” coming out summer 2026.
Kicking off this year’s highlight is keynote speaker Lauren Brown, Art Director at Wizard of the Coast on Magic the Gathering and Emmy Award-winning illustrator and artist advocate, who will be speaking on the spirit and resilience of creating through doubts and uncertainty.
INTERACTIVE ROUNDTABLE AND EXPERT PANELS
In addition, there are two roundtables discussing the future of animation and the Remix Culture, where the community is invited to sit and engage in a discussion around what it means to create in today’s world and the idea of originality.
EXPO HALL WITH 20+ EXHIBITORS
The community is also invited to visit our EXPO HALL this year with over 20+ exhibition booths from studios, local artists, organizations, and sponsors, with demos such as WACOM, Binders, Silver Comet Studio, Alane Adam Studio, Visual Effects Society Atlanta, Momocon, Women in Animation Collective, Joana Davidovich, and more!
ANIMATED SCREENING
Catch our signature three-animated-shorts block especially curated by our team, including All Ages (General) on Friday, Southern Spotlight (PG13), and International Selects (PG13). Winners of our Best in Show, Best of South, Animation for All, and Audience Choice awards will receive a WACOM tablet and uniquely designed and handcrafted one-of-a-kind trophies and be selected for our International Animation Day (IAD) exchange program screening with ASIFA chapters around the world.
SPECIAL PREREGISTER EVENTS
Starting August 1st (July 27th for ASIFA-South members), people can sign up for our special limited space events, including participating in the artistic development sessions (portfolio review, pitch me, meet a pro), join a game jam, or our MAKE SOME NOISE: Voice Over, Sound Workshop.
ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT: PORTFOLIO REVIEW AND PITCH SESSION
Our special artistic development sessions include portfolio reviews for aspiring and intermediate creatives looking to advance their career, join in our game jam and form a team to create a new game in 24 hours, or join our MAKE SOME NOISE workshop
Also, a new addition this year by demand, is our professional pitch me session where creators can schedule an online pitch me session to get feedback about their originals/ pitch deck from our ASIFA-South board of director, Allyssa Lewis (Founder of My Animation Life, former recruiter- Netflix, Blizzard). But hurry, as these are limited sessions and usually fill up fast!
Don’t have a portfolio? Drop by anyway to speed network, ask questions, or meet the creative-friendly professionals in the community!
GAME JAM
Come join us in a 24-hour GAME JAM starting Friday and ending Saturday 3pm to carry out a game concept that will be released at our festival! Whether you already have a team or want to connect with others to carry out a game concept that will be released at our festival! We’re looking for a good time, open to all levels and mediums, including digital or physical game concepts. A shout-out to Epic Games for providing us with swag for the event!
VIP Ceremony Award: If you are an ASIFA-South member or want to become one, you also have a special option of getting the $40 VIP ticket to be invited to our VIP awards ceremony on Sunday the 23rd and get early access to preregistration special events along with a commemorative festival pin, lounge with light snacks and refreshments, and complimentary 1-yr membership.
If you can’t join in the fun this year, the keynote and selected panels will be livestreamed on ASIFA-South’s Youtube channel!
