Ethiopia’s ‘Sunday Morning’ wins major prize at Annecy Animation Festival

Sunday Morning, an animated short written by Minasie Terefe, Ephrem Terefe, and Ermias Assefa, won the AGrAF (Association des Auteurs de Groupements de l’Animation Française) Award for Best TV Series or Special at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, the world’s leading animation festival. The festival, held in Annecy in Haute-Savoie, also hosted the International Animation Film Market (MIFA) from June 21–27, featuring premieres from major studios, television series, and student short films.

Out of hundreds of submissions from around the world, “Sunday Morning” was selected as one of just 14 projects in the lineup, and was among the few fully African-developed entries in the selection. The film follows four siblings who turn every quiet Sunday morning into an epic adventure—without waking their sleepy mother, humorously capturing the clash between parents’ need for peace and children’s urge to play.

“When we were children, Sunday was the only day we could really have fun. Unfortunately for us, it was also the very day our parents desperately needed to rest,” one of the creators Minasie Terefe said.

Created by Minasie by Behargerlij Studio, the slice-of-life series has also been optioned for development as a potential Disney Channel and Disney+ animated series.

This is considered a significant achievement for a country with no established tradition in the animation industry. Minasie Terefe is more cautious about the term itself, arguing that it is still premature to speak of an industry. “The animation industry… I can’t even call it an industry yet, because it’s still in its infancy,” says the filmmaker, who heads Behargerlij Studio in Addis Ababa.

“Most of the projects we work on are advertisements or commercial commissions. They are mainly for clients either abroad, within the Ethiopian diaspora, or in Ethiopia itself. Beyond that, there are still no animated feature films or television series devoted entirely to animation.”

For him, that early stage is precisely what makes the moment significant. “We’re still in the very early days of animation, but the sector is growing because people are beginning to notice what we’re doing.”

Minasie Terefe’s personal journey illustrates this shift. Trained in architecture and graduating at the top of his class, he nevertheless chose animation—a decision that seemed “so absurd” to his family and community at the time. Today, however, animation is increasingly being recognized as a viable career path.

He co-founded Behagerlij Studio ten years ago and has since built a career in animation and visual storytelling. He has directed award-winning animated shorts, including Zarem Arbegna and Endegna, and has represented Ethiopia at international platforms such as Durban FilmMart in South Africa, contributing to the growing visibility of Ethiopia’s animation industry.