What’s Coming in 2026

| Logbook | News |

This is a very special year for Pixelatl. First of all, because we are celebrating 15 years since we began (and it is also our 15th festival!). But there are also several other things that will make 2026 a very different year, and we want to share a preview of them in this article.

Festival Date Change

First of all, this year the Festival will take place in November. Since our second festival, we have always held it in September, but due to the construction of the new Ciudad Creativa Digital building, it became necessary to change the date on this occasion.

The Advanced Specialization Seminar for producers

This year we will hold the advanced specialization workshop for animation producers, which will begin in February and whose process will extend through October, with a closing activity during the Pixelatl festival.

This is a long-term course that we have been preparing for some time and that continues, in a more formal way, the various efforts we have carried out in recent years to provide professional development tools for animation production. As an industry, we need more people specializing in this area to help drive the creation of new animated content.

The amount of work involved in designing and operating this course, as well as the participation of internationally recognized producers in the training process, previously made it economically unfeasible. However, thanks to the support of COETCYJAL, we will finally be able to carry it out.

Registration opened in December and we expect at least 50 participants. The course includes weekly online classes and three in-person sessions. You can learn more about the workshop at animotora.com, where we published the basic information and the call for applications, and where we will eventually share additional updates about the course.

Collaboration with Comfama Colombia

In addition, this year Pixelatl is formally collaborating with the Comfama Animation Festival in Colombia on the organization of its market and other activities.

The Comfama festival has been held for several years in the community of El Retiro, located in the department of Antioquia, and has grown in relevance year after year. Since mid-last year, we were able to establish a collaboration agreement to help focus the efforts of its market so that it better serves the companies it is intended for. So, to all the Colombians in our community, see you in March in El Retiro!

We hope to share updates in this logbook about this collaboration and its results.

Pixelatl Platforms

Another important task we will undertake this year is the migration of our databases and the gradual adjustment of our systems, since some programming languages and applications have been discontinued or have become outdated.

Those who recently joined our community and did not experience the early stages of our efforts may not realize how complex it has been to manage the various initiatives, programs, and open calls that have grown in number and complexity over the years. This situation led us to gradually develop a digital ecosystem to manage users and their participation in activities and calls, maintain a repository of useful content we have produced, and create tools that facilitate networking and connections across our initiatives.

As you know, Pixelatl is not an organization with guaranteed financial resources, and we have always operated with an economic deficit that limits our efforts. Thanks to the generosity of our partners at Sistrategia Consultores, we have been able to gradually develop and maintain our digital platforms over the years—platforms you may already know, although many remain unfinished or, due to financial limitations, are not as user-friendly or efficient as we would like. Nevertheless, this year we will undertake major improvements and hope you will begin to see the results.

The Ideatoon Bootcamp Returns

One of the most important components of Ideatoon was the Bootcamp, which for various reasons could not be held during the previous two years. In 2024, we attempted to replace it with online activities for selected participants and an intensive working session during the festival, which in 2025 we were unable to repeat.

The good news is that this year the Ideatoon Bootcamp will return: the intensive training event for selected projects. Watch for the call for applications in early April!

New Event in Morelos

Another new development in 2026 is an event we will hold in Morelos during the second half of the year.

As you may know, Cuernavaca hosted the Pixelatl festival for seven years, and this year we return with a different event that we hope will become established.

It is actually an event we designed several years ago but had not secured the support needed to make it happen. It focuses not only on the visual arts but also on performing and interactive arts (spoiler: if you check the “about us/projects” section of our logbook, you might guess which one it is, because when we first designed it, we published it there).

We will share dates and more information soon about this new space which, like everything we do, seeks to professionalize, connect, and build community.

And Everything Else

We will maintain our open calls (although due to the festival date change, some may appear slightly later in the calendar) and continue implementing the strategies that have proven successful over the years.

In addition, as part of our 15th anniversary, we are reviewing our history and documenting success stories and achievements so we can revisit and share them.

In short: 2026 is shaping up to be an extraordinary year… and we hope you will be part of it!