Lisbon’s Animation Festival hosts its 25th edition from the 12th to the 22nd of March in Lisbon
Widely recognized and internationally awarded, Portuguese animation holds a prominent place at MONSTRA – Lisbon’s Animation Festival once again. The festival’s 25th edition takes place in Lisbon from the 12th to the 22nd of March. Over a quarter of a century, the festival has asserted itself as an essential platform for the promotion of auteur animation, aesthetic experimentation and the discovery of new talents.
Portuguese Competition
Founded in 2010, the Portuguese Competition, known in Portuguese as the Vasco Granja Competition, pays tribute to a notable cultural promoter and programmer who influenced generations. It has gradually established itself as one of the cornerstones of the festival, reflecting the vitality, diversity and maturity of national production. In 2026, this section is composed of nine films, which offer a plural portrait of contemporary Portuguese creativity.
Among the selected titles is “My Oddly Unexecpted Bond” by Carolina Batista, a short film which explores small everyday routines transformed into metaphors about loss and memory, through visual tenderness and intimate storytelling.
“Machinarium” by João Pedro Oliveira brings us an absolute premiere. The film invites the viewer to inhabit a constantly chaging landscape, composed of metallic rhythms and shiny structures, where spatial awareness is continuously reconstruced.
Film director and visual artist Gabriel Abrantes is also part of the competition with “Arguments in Favor of Love”, reinforcing the dialogue between animation and hybrid cinema, which has defined his international career. Known for his conceptual irreverence and critical humour, Abrantes adds original density to this edition.
In “Doe”, Maria Lima builds a narrative sorrounding transformation and identity. “Remember Me” by Bárbara Barreto, Caroline Soares and João Cadima, proposes a reflection about collective memory and affection, crossing different visual languages in a collaborative work.
With “Shadows of Ourselves”, Pedro Serrazina, one of the most consistent names in Portuguese animation and a regular presence at the festival, presents a film which dives into the themes of introspection and otherness, through a particularly expressive visual approach.
“Amarelo Banana” by Alexandre Sousa bets on a vibrant and contemporary language, exploring the symbolic pontential contained in colour and narrative rhythm. In turn, “Dog Alone” by Marta Reis Andrade addresses urban loneliness and the insivible links which bring us together, in an emotionally charged short film.
The competition is complete with “Because Today Is Saturday” by Alice Eça Guimarães, film director with a recognized journey of aesthetic sensitivity and poetic exploration of everyday experiences.
The Portuguese Competition asserts itself as a privileged place for the affirmation and projection of Portuguese animation, which holds a prominent position in this edition: in total, 47 Portuguese films will be screened, 21 one of them being part of the several competitions in the festival. MONSTRA is composed of the international Feature Film Competition, Short Film Competitions, the Super-Short Film Competition (films up to 2 minutes), the Student Film Competition and, for the first time ever, the Long-Shorts Film Competition, which is powered by FILMIN. In total, there will be 490 films screened in an edition which celebrates Nature and Sustainability, programming several retrospectives and paying tribute to Latvia’s animation cinema.
In Lisbon, MONSTRA takes place at Cinema São Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa and Cinema City Alvalade. MONSTRA – Lisbon’s Animation Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual, Creative Europe MEDIA and the Lisbon City Council.
“Amarelo Banana” by Alexandre Sousa