The 8^th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival took place in Baku from September 3 to 7, 2025. The festival was opened by the Czech Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Milan Sedláček, together with the festival director, filmmaker, producer, and Chairman of the Azerbaijan Animation Association, Rashid Aghamaliyev, who studied animation in Olomouc and at FAMU. The main event of the official open-air opening ceremony at the Palace of the Shirvanshahs in the Old Town was the screening of the film “Tales from the Magic Garden”, which was co-produced by Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and France. The film was screened in Czech with Azerbaijani subtitles.

The 8^th edition of ANIMAFILM attracted over 1,000 viewers, who watched more than 60 films from 25 countries. The festival was dedicated to combining creativity with compassion for abandoned animals, and part of the proceeds from ticket sales was therefore donated to local initiatives supporting the living conditions of cats in Baku.

This year's ANIMAFILM included four programs: competitive, non-competitive, accompanying, and professional. The special jury prize went to the film "9 Million Colors" by Czech director Bára Anna Stejskalová. Ambassador Milan Sedláček accepted the award for the filmmakers during the closing ceremony at the Nizami Cinema Center.