Azerbaijan's Animated Films to Be Featured at International Festival

The 1st URKER International Animation Film Festival will take place in Aktau, Kazakhstan, from August 5-8, 2025.

The main competition program of the festival will feature the animated films “Nargiz” by renowned animation director Masud Panahi , and the non-competition program will feature the animated films “Hadis” by Nazrin Aghamaliyeva, The Caspian Post reports.

In total, 51 animated films are participating in the festival, of which 8 films are included in the main and 9 films are included in the student competition program.

The producer of the animated films “Nargiz” and “Hadis”, the chairman of the Azerbaijan Animation Association , Rashid Aghamaliyev , will participate in the festival. The festival will also be attended by producer Ogtay Yusibov, a member of the association, as a jury member.

The organizers of the festival are the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Akimat of Mangystau Region.

URKER International Animation Film Festival is an international event that brings together animated films from the countries of the Turkic world. The goal of the festival is to promote the rich heritage of the outstanding Kazakh scientist-mythologist Serikbol Kondybay (1968-2004). The festival will be held under the motto “Animation of the New Turkic Era”.

In 2025, Aktau was chosen as the cultural capital of the Turkic world and will host the international animation festival for the first time in this status.