YAOTY
Submissions are now OPEN!
Are you the next Young Animator of the Year?
Each year, students aged 15-19 from the island of Ireland are invited to submit their short animated films to the national YAOTY Awards.
Animation Dingle’s Young Animator of The Year (YAOTY) is kindly sponsored by Disney.
The winner of YAOTY 2027 will be presented their award at Animation Dingle on Friday 19th March, 2027. The award will be presented by Orion Ross, VP International Animation, Disney Branded Television.
2026 THEME: MOVE ME
THEME: MOVE ME
WHO CAN ENTER?
- Young people aged between 15-19.
- Students must be attending school in the island of Ireland, or can be an Irish student studying abroad.
WHAT TO SUBMIT?
- An animated film no longer than 10 minutes (including opening titles and end credits)
- Possible techniques include (but are not limited to)
- Hand-drawn
- Stop-motion
- Computer generated animation
- Coding
- Cut-out
- Claymation
COST: Free!
WHERE: Submit your film on FilmFreeway.
Submissions are now OPEN.
Deadline: February 5th, 2027
Submissions for 2026 Now CLOSED!
Young Animator of the Year (YAOTY) 2025 sponsored by Disney, the award went to Athish Srinivasan from St Oliver’s Community College for his project Nothing.
To open the 2025 Conference, Orion Ross from Disney presented the YAOTY Award.
The 2025 Award celebrated Athish Srinivasan, for his project Nothing: Synopsis – What happens when I attempt to answer the question “What are you passionate about? While thinking through my possible answer, it becomes overwhelming.
Animation Dingle’s Young Animator of The Year, (YAOTY) runs annually with the support of our friends in Disney.
Are YOU, or is someone you know, the next Young Animator of the Year?
Each year, secondary school students and 1st year college students from all over the island of Ireland are invited to submit their short animated films to the national YAOTY Awards.
Keep your eyes on our social media for updates and announcements. The YAOTY winner will be presented with their award at the opening of our Animation Dingle Festival on Friday 19th March, 2026 by Orion Ross, VP International Animation, Disney Branded Television! The winner will be offered 1 nights’ accommodation in the Dingle Skellig Hotel.
Set in magical Dingle, Animation Dingle is a festival that was created for students and has been molded by them over the years. We want to draw attention to the talented young people in Ireland and give them a spotlight in which to showcase their skills.
Listed as ‘One of the top Not-To-Be-Missed events in the World’ by Animation Magazine, Animation Dingle is attended by all the major animation colleges and studios within Ireland, along with delegates from Disney and many more animation studios.
THEME: What’s The Story?
