New Chitose Animation Festival opens November 20 with over 2,000 works in competition

The New Chitose International Animation Festival starts on November 20, 2026 and runs through the 24. It is the 13th edition of an event that since 2014 has grown into one of the most important animation festivals in Japan, and it has a feature that is hard to find anywhere in the world: everything happens inside the airport.

The screenings, the hotel, and even the onsen are in the New Chitose terminal in Hokkaido. The festival occupies the airport cinema, with three screens, and the Portom Hall in the international terminal. There is no need to leave the building during the five days it lasts.

The festival director, Tomoko Ono, explained the details in a talk held on October 15 in Sapporo. There she described how the works are selected and why the event has earned the affection of so many creators.

The New Chitose International Animation Festival is held inside the Hokkaido airport.domingo.ne.jp

Over 2,000 candidates and a selection that bets on the experimental

The festival receives more than 2,000 works in competition. A preselection team narrows them down to about 500, and then four juries choose the finalist works. According to Ono, the pieces that generate unanimity tend to be those that have already entered other international festivals. The identity of the event appears in the difficult decisions.

The director summed it up with one word: originality. It is not just about using new technology, but about turning it into the engine of the work. They also value that a piece made with traditional techniques makes an effort to connect with today's audience.

That bet on the risky is noticeable when compared with the Hiroshima Animation Season: around 70% of the finalist works do not overlap between the two festivals.

A festival designed as a meeting point

For Ono, a festival is not just a place to watch films. It is a platform for exchange. That is why the event covers part of the travel and the entire hotel for finalist creators, who usually attend in person.

After each screening in the competitive section there is a short interview with the author, with questions from juries specialized in animation. That moment, Ono says, is one of the most valued by both creators and the audience.

The festival screenings occupy the three-screen cinema at New Chitose Airport.domingo.ne.jp

The atmosphere has changed a lot since the first editions. The competitive short sessions, which at first were almost empty, now fill up and end with applause. Ono asked for a warm welcome for creators visiting Japan for the first time.

What to see if it is your first time

The main recommendation is the International Competition section, with between one and five programs of shorts from around the world. Ono says that any of them is a good choice and that it is enough to pick the schedule that works best.

Also notable are the Japanese Competition and the Music Animation Competition, the latter focused on works that use music as an expressive resource.

Among the five feature films, the organization recommends CHERRY AND VIRGIN, which will have a production talk after the screening. The film will be officially released in 2027, so the festival is a chance to see it early.

The NEW CHITOSE Animation Park offers free screenings and workshops for the whole family.domingo.ne.jp

For families there is the NEW CHITOSE Animation Park in Portom Hall, with free screenings and animation workshops. Admission is free.

Tickets and dates

Tickets start at 1,500 yen for reserved seats. Program passes cost from 3,000 yen, and day tickets from 2,000 yen.

The festival runs from November 20 to 24 at the New Chitose Airport cinema, on the fourth floor of the domestic terminal, and at Portom Hall, on the second floor of the international terminal.

Ono also mentioned a curious fact: more and more works created with generative AI are arriving, and the interesting part is seeing how each author integrates it into their own universe. For her, the festival shows that there are still many forms of animation left to discover.

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