The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and MONSTRA | Lisbon Animation Festival announce a new partnership, bringing an international FIPRESCI jury to the festival for the first time in March 2027.
For more than 25 years, MONSTRA has approached animation not simply as a cinematic genre, but as a meeting point between artistic languages. Founded in Lisbon in 2000, the festival was conceived around dialogue between animation and other art forms, bringing together different techniques, disciplines and approaches while combining screenings with exhibitions, workshops, masterclasses, education and professional exchange. Today, its activities extend well beyond Lisbon, while its annual festival remains one of Portugal’s major meeting places for international animation.
The 26th edition of MONSTRA will take place from 11 to 21 March 2027, with Greece and Cyprus as invited countries. Its international competitions encompass feature films, long shorts, shorts, super shorts, student films and films for children and young audiences, reflecting a deliberately broad understanding of contemporary animation.
For its debut at MONSTRA, FIPRESCI will appoint a three-member international jury of film critics with particular expertise and interest in animation. The jury will follow the festival’s Long Short Film and Short Film competitions and present the FIPRESCI Prize to one film from across the two sections.
The focus on these two competitions places the FIPRESCI jury at a particularly dynamic point in MONSTRA’s programme. The Long Short Film Competition, introduced in 2026, creates space for animated works between 15 and 40 minutes, while the festival’s established Short Film Competition brings together films from different regions, cultures and traditions, encompassing techniques from analogue and digital drawing to stop-motion, rotoscoping and other forms of animated expression.
Kévin Giraud, Head of FIPRESCI Animation Subgroup: “A flagship event in the lively and vibrant landscape of Portuguese animation, MONSTRA transforms Lisbon into the beating heart of this industry. From local talents to international well-known guests, MONSTRA celebrates all equally, and showcases the wide possibilities of the animated medium to all. An approach that’s perfectly in line with FIPRESCI’s goals, and makes this new collaboration not only a pleasure, but also an essential development in our coverage of animated festivals throughout Europe and the world”.
Fernando Galrito, MONSTRA Founder and Artistic Director: “We are delighted to welcome a FIPRESCI Jury to MONSTRA. FIPRESCI has long championed boldness, risk-taking and freedom of artistic expression, values that have been at the sentiment of MONSTRA for almost 27 years. We believe that animation can be the center of cross-sectional and transdisciplinary dialogues that link and connect animation to all areas of art and knowledge. This partnership reflects our shared commitment and recognises the work MONSTRA has nurtured throughout its 26 editions.”
The partnership continues FIPRESCI’s commitment to engaging critically with the full diversity of contemporary cinema. At MONSTRA, this means entering a festival environment in which animation is understood not as a single technique or category, but as a constantly evolving artistic language capable of crossing boundaries between cinema, visual art, performance, technology and education.
The first FIPRESCI jury at MONSTRA will take place during the festival’s 26th edition, 11–21 March 2027 in Lisbon, Portugal.
©FIPRESCI 2026