GLAS Animation Festival takes place March 19-22, 2020 in the historic city of Berkeley, California, just a quick ride away from San Francisco.

GLAS Animation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2014. Our core mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of animation. We provide a unique platform for independent animation, champion diverse and underrepresented voices, and emphasize exceptional directors and artists that push visual, conceptual, and narrative boundaries within the cinematic artform. We are a community-driven organization that not only exhibits animated films, but creates a context and language for a shared understanding and appreciation of animation in the United States.

In March 2016 we launched the first annual GLAS Animation Festival in Berkeley, California. GLAS takes place over four days across Downtown Berkeley at various prestigious cultural institutions including theaters, galleries, media centers, and educational institutions.

GLAS exhibits films from local and international artists and filmmakers across the animation spectrum, creating a community and space for industry veterans, historians, animation enthusiasts, and emerging talent from diverse backgrounds to come together, share, learn, and appreciate the animated art form in a critical context. We started GLAS to showcase the most exciting animation being made around the world and expand the scope of how animation is understood as an artistic medium in the United States.

At the heart of the festival is the international competition, which showcases five curated programs of the most exceptional contemporary animated short films. These programs are the highlight of the festival as they demonstrate most fully the expressive abilities of animation as a medium. Created oftentimes by an individual artist or small team, these films push the boundaries of film itself through a singular vision not possible in any other medium.