The Fredrikstad Animation Festival (FAF), the Nordic-Baltic region's leading professional animation platform introduces Animated Network Days (October 21-23), a dedicated industry program bringing together animation professionals, producers, buyers, distributors, sales agents, and financiers from across the Nordic-Baltic region and beyond. The full festival, encompassing film screenings, evening social events, and the FAF Masterclass Series runs October 21-25, 2026.
Animated Network Days: The Nordic-Baltic Industry Meets in Fredrikstad
October 21-23: Concentrated Industry Programming
If you're attending as a producer, these are your core days. This is when the market programming happens:
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Storyline Production Pitch (Wednesday, October 23) —
Up to 5 selected Nordic and Baltic projects in production or development pitch live to a jury of producers, sales agents, distributors, and founders. Each selected project recieves curated 1:1 meetings with decicion-makers afterward and the winning project will win a 100,000 NOK grant with Storyline AS. SUBMIT HERE -
"Meet the Distributors" and "Meet the Sales Agents" (Thursday-Friday, October 21-22) —
Panel sessions and structured networking with leading European sales agents and distributors. -
Co-Production Seminars and Round Tables —
Nordic Animation Association-led sessions where producers, founders and policy makers discuss co-production strategies, sustainably in animation production, and cross-border collaboration models. -
Work-in-progress sessions —
Directors and producers present projects in early stages. 2026 will expand WIP sessions to include both Nordic and Baltic projects. -
Sustainability Panel Green Producers Club —
Forget dry lectures. The Green Producers Club is bringing their signature Club Meeting energy to FAF. This is an unfiltered, peer-to-peer session driving into case studies of studios that have successfully integrated sustainability into their DNA. Join us for an honest conversation on how to transition from 'business as usual' to sustainable animation production. - "We partner with FAF because they don't just talk about change, they've been living it for years. Their commitment to sustainability isn't a trend; it's a constant evolution that we are proud to support. FAF occupies a unique and vital space, bridging the gap between the international film festival circuit and the animation industry, making them the perfect partner to lead the green transtition." - Brita Synnøve Holt Vistnes, Green Producers Club.
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Producers Lounge —
Free Coffee, Wifi, and workspace. A quiet place to take meetings, work, or reset between events. - Industry Dinner — The Production Pitch winner will be announced at the annual gala dinner.
"Animation in the Nordics is booming, yet until now the industry has lacked a truly professional event focused on the business side of the sector. Our studios and producers are ambitious and increasingly eager to break into international markets, but they face persistent challenges at home: small domestic markets, a limited number of distributors, broadcasters with varied levels of engagement for their local animated projects, and funding bodies that differ widely in their understanding of animation production. The opportunities are there, but so are the challenges. That's why this initiative from the Fredrikstad Animation Festival sounds like excactly what the industry needs." - Chairperson of Nordic Animation Association, Tonje Skar Reiersen.
Nordisk Film & TV Fond's theme year 2025 Animation Collaboration focused on supporting lasting co-working structures in the Nordic region. During the year it became evident what an important role Fredrikstad Animation Festival plays in connecting and inspiring professionals and companies in our region and beyond. It is a special pleasure to see international guests and delegates share challenges, solutions and co-production opportunities in such a friendly atmosphere.
Liselott Forsman | CEO
Nordisk Film & TV Fond
The Storyline Production Pitch: How to participate
The centerpiece of Animated Network Days is the Storyline Production Pitch, now open for submission. SUBMIT HERE
Here's how it works:
Eligibility: You're a Nordic or Baltic main or co-producer with a feature-length animation project in development or production.
What happens:
- You submit your project through the submission portal with a project profile, logline, visual materials (concept art, teaser, sizzle reel if available), production stage, financing status, and team information. Up to 5 projects for the formal pitch program.
- Live pitching (Wednesday, October 21) — Each project presents to a jury of producers, sales agents, distributors, and funders. Pitches are live, public, and taken seriously.
- Curated meetings (Thursday - Friday) — After pitching, each project is eligible for 1:1 meetings with relevant decicion-makers (sales agents, distributors, funders).
Film, Events & FAF Masterclass Series: October 21-25
The full Fredrikstad Animation Festival runs across five days, combining the Animated Network Days industry program with a rich program of film screenings, evening social events, and the FAF Masterclass Series.
The FAF Masterclass Series offers participants in-depth sessions led by leading industry practitioners, covering craft, production, financing, and the evolving landscape of animation and immersive storytelling. Access to the Masterclasses will be available for all pass types, (except from Film Lover pass)!
Evening social events throughout the festival week create informal space for the connections that drive the industry forward — an essential complement to the structured programming of Animated Network Days. Events like Animated Voices: A TVPaint Karaoke Night will blend the two audiences in a fun setting.
Accreditations
Festival AND Market Accredation — Access to the full festival, including all Animated Network Days programming, film screenings, evening social events, and the FAF Masterclass Series.
Early bird accreditations now available until August 1 at 1000 kr. After August 1, prices increase.
BUY HERE
Festival Accreditation— Access to all film screenings, limited evening social events, and the FAF Masterclass Series, and Tech Talks.
Film Lover Accreditation – Access to screenings only.
Festival dates: October 21–25, 2026
- Animated Network Days: October 21–23
- Fredrikstad Animation Festival: October 21–25
About Fredrikstad Animation Festival
Fredrikstad Animation Festival has served as the professional meeting point for Nordic-Baltic animation for over 30 years. In 2025, it attracted over 350 professional accreditations from 18 European countries and 157 companies. The market doesn't change that. It clarifies it, amplifies it, and creates the infrastructure to support what was already happening.
Fredrikstad tested the market concept in 2025 with a mini-market pilot. The response was stronger than anyone expected: strong turnout, genuine producer interest, funders and sales agents participation.
This is important to understand: Animated Network Days isn't replacing the Fredrikstad Animation Festival. It's functioning alongside it, as part of it. The festival continues its core mission: programming the best Nordic-Baltic animated films, hosting masterclass speakers from leading studios, creating the intimate experience that reminds creators why they fell in love with animation. The market provides the professional infrastructure: structured pitching, financing sessions, curated meetings, and the infrastructure that helps producers secure partnerships and funding.
“As the festival grew dramatically, the years after the pandemic, we saw that the festival developed a stronger focus on the producing part of animation, that fits an actually market. To develop the two focus of the festival; we saw a need for a more clear communication where we balance the creativities in animation for the festival and the market activities in an actually market. This way our audience can trust us that Fredrikstad Animation Festival still will be screening a strong filmprogram and create social meeting place for all.” – Anders Narverud Moen
One celebrates animation as an art form. The other recognizes animation as an industry. They can and should coexist. To make that work, the festival made a structural change in 2026: Clara Sætren, who has worked at FAF for six editions managing as the festival producer increasingly facilitating industry activities, moves into the newly created role of Director of Business Operations, leading Animated Network Days. Anders remains Festival Director, focused on artistic programming and curation.
"We realized we were trying to serve two completely different audiences at once," Clara reflects. "One wanted the film experience, the artistic dialogue, the celebration of animation as art. The other needed market infrastructure: structured pitching, financing seminars, curated meetings with decision-makers. Both were important but need to be cared for differently”
The split allows each function to receive dedicated attention. The festival's artistic mission is protected and amplified. The market infrastructure is formalized and professional. And because the AND accreditation includes access to everything, films, masterclasses, social events, informal spaces, the two still intersect. Producers still encounter creatives. Filmmakers still watch films that inspire them. The market doesn't happen in isolation; it happens within a living film festival.
Animated Network Days goal is to fill a specific gap: creating the only Northern European market designed to structurally include the all of the Nordic and Baltic countries. It's creating a space where all eight Nordic-Baltic countries meet on equal footing.
