Debuts and Debut Juniors are an exciting fixture of our festival. We have loved being able to open our festival up to young and up-and-coming animators of all ages. We take a different approach to these categories to make sure they are being judged both by a group of same-aged peers as well as adult animators who have either participated in our festival previously or are industry professionals who have worked with young animators. As a result of this unique approach, if you are submitting as either a Debut or Debut JR., your work is being seen by a ton of different eyeballs of all ages and experiences.

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Here's a quick refresher if you aren't sure which category you fall under or which one you'd like to watch:

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DEBUTS: These are animators age 13-17. If you are 12, kindly see the next category, if you are 18+,  look to submit as either a student or novice/first-timer, depending on your background and your own judgment.

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DEBUT JUNIORS: These are animators 12 and under. 

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Films judged in either category go through of panel of same-aged peers (so < 12 and under for Debut Jrs. and 13-17 for Debuts) as well as a panel of our esteemed adult judges, most of which are judging adult categories as well, so you know they know their stuff. 

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Including animation from all ages is a great way to let youth animators submit their films to receive feedback and accolades for their hard work, but also allows our festival to be populated with family-friendly films made by kids for all. 

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For the 2022 Florida Animation Festival, we have a dedicated screening of Debut & Debut Junior submissions, Young at ART, as well as having sprinkled several official selections across all programs.  Visit our Virtual Program Book to get started!