Arts and Entertainment

Happy Valley Animation Festival starts March 29

The Happy Valley Animation Festival will return for its third year on March 29–April 5, 2023. Credit: HVAFAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The third annual Happy Valley Animation Festival (HVAF) will be held March 29 to April 5, in collaboration with Penn State's Digital Arts and Media Design (DART) program in the School of Visual Arts and the Animation Club at Penn State. The event is free and open to the public.

The HVAF is an international animation competition that seeks to showcase works by student, early career and practicing professional artists, designers and filmmakers in three primary categories: animated short films, experimental animation, and animated motion graphics and design.

The festival takes place on Penn State's University Park campus, with open and student category award winners and official selections featured in the in-person HVAF Screenings and Gallery Exhibition at Penn State and online.

The HVAF 2023 Animation Showcase will be held in the HUB-Robeson Center's Flex Theatre on March 29. Official selections will be screened at the Palmer Museum of Art auditorium on April 1, 4 and 5.

Events and exhibition

HVAF 2023 Animation Showcase

Wednesday, March 29, 6-8:30 p.m., Flex Theatre, 132 HUB-Robeson Center

  • Public screening of selected HVAF 2023 award-winning animations and official sections in the international open and international student categories. This event is free and open to the public.

HVAF 2023 Official Selection Screenings

Saturday, April 1; Tuesday, April 4; and Wednesday, April 5, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Palmer Museum of Art auditorium

  • Public screenings of HVAF 2023 official selections in the international open and international student animation categories. The animations will run continuously. This event is free and open to the public.

HVAF 2023 Summer Gallery Exhibition

May 10-July 10, Patterson Building gallery, University Park

  • An exhibition featuring the award-winning animations and official selections from the Happy Valley Animation Festival. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the Happy Valley Animation Festival website or email admins@happyvalleyanimationfestival.org.

Last Updated March 27, 2023