The 13th annual Animation Dingle Festival was yet another fantastic event, bringing together over 750 animators in the picturesque Irish town of Dingle for a weekend teeming with creativity and innovation.

We would like to express our gratitude to our industry partners, Screen Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, as well as Coimisiún na Meán, for their invaluable support in organizing this festival.

We also send our heartfelt thanks to Jam Media, our main sponsors RTÉjr and Disney.

Special appreciation goes out to The IDA, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and The French Embassy of Ireland. Together with our partners and sponsors, we continue to celebrate and nurture Ireland’s exceptional animation talent through Animation Dingle.

Suzanne Kelly, Head of Children’s and Young People’s Content at RTE, shared her excitement about RTÉjr’s partnership with the Animation Dingle Awards this year. She appreciates the unique synergy the event creates between industry experts and students. She looks forward to the innovative works of the young animators attending the event.

And now, presenting the champions of this festival:

Disney’s Young Animator of the Year (YAOTY)
Athish Srinivasan from St Oliver’s Community College takes home the prize.

RTÉjr’s Best Irish Student:
The award was bestowed upon Freya Porrittwessman from TUS LSAD for her work, Moncha.

BBC’s CBBC Best International Student:

The Shyness of Trees, a collaboration by a team from Gobelins, clinched the award.

MILKSHAKE!’s Best Animation Award:
Ciara Walsh from TUS LSAD wins this for her work Cuttlefish.

Aardman Animations’ Best Stop Motion Award:
The award goes to Ferdinand Ehrhardt from the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg for Detlev.

Cartoon Saloon’s Best 2D:
CUTTLEFISH by Ciara Walsh, TUS LSAD won this category.

Boulder Media’s Best Director Award:

The unbelievably talented team from Gobelins shone once again with The Shyness of Trees.

Animation Ireland and National Talent Academy for Animation’s Best Writer:
My Sisters Nature, directed by Bella Quinn, IADT won this honour.

JAM Media’s Best Design/ Art Direction awards:
Rewarded to Moncha, by Freya Porrittwessman, TUS LSAD

Turnip & Duck’s Best Sound Design:
Domhnal Cotter, IADT won this for Samhain.

Screen Composers Guild Ireland’s Best Original Score:
Won by You’ve Got This, Allie! By Wren Petkov and Michelle Saal, IADT.

Lighthouse Studios’ Best Cinematography:
Of Minds and Terrors by Simas Abrutis and Joseph Catney, University of Ulster clinched this award.

DNEG’s Best 3D/CGI:
Jour de Vent by a team from ENSI won in this category.

Best Irish Professional Short:
The supreme Retirement Plan by John Kelly

Nickelodeon’s Best International Professional Short:
The amazing Snow Bear by Aaron Blaise, USA

Best Sting:
Star Collector by Daria Hres, ATU

2K’s Best Game Sting:
The Dingle Mystery by Marcin Zapedowski, BCFE

2K’s Best Game Trailer Award was League of Legends – Still Here by UNIT IMAGE.
Marie Kishchuk wins the Big Pitcher with her project Fished & Found securing a 3-month paid internship with Jam Media and a pitch at Cartoon Springboard later this year.

Brown Bag Films’ Murakami Award 2025 was proudly awarded to Andrew Fitzpatrick

This award, named in honour of the legendary Japanese animator Jimmy Teru Murakami, recognises visionaries who’ve made significant contributions to the field of animation.