Adgwa-Ata Earns Oscar Longlist Eligibility Through a Giant Snake’s Rite of Passage

Adgwa-Ata is a Hungarian-French animated short about three girls drawn into a brutal jungle initiation and a divine realm of giant serpent totems. Its Best Hungarian Animated Film win at Friss Hús Bud

Adgwa-Ata is a 15-minute 2D animated short co-produced by Hungary and France. Three girls captured by a jungle tribe enter a sacred dimension as part of a harsh ritual to become adults. There, they face giant snakes, each representing their totem animal, and the choice to tame or accept them becomes the heart of the rite of passage. The film premiered in France on May 13, 2026, and was presented as a world premiere in the Critics’ Week short film competition at Cannes.

Three Girls’ Ritual, Three Different Choices

Director and screenwriter Zsuzsanna Kreif structures the film as a story of three girls each making their way alone through an unfamiliar space. The tribal ritual is not merely a backdrop, but a process the girls must undergo to confront their fears and return as members of the community. With no dialogue, the characters’ emotions and the ritual’s progression are conveyed through digital 2D imagery, movement, and sound.

A Festival Journey That Began at Cannes

Production involved Hungary’s Boddah and France’s Avec ou sans vous and XBO Films, while Miyu Distribution handled sales. After its premiere, the film was also invited to the short film competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The music was composed by Nathalie Zende, the sound was handled by Péter Benjamin Lukács, and the editing was done by Judit Csáko.

Eligibility for the Oscar Longlist

Adgwa-Ata won Best Hungarian Animation at the 2026 Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival. The festival is Hungary’s only Academy Award-qualifying film festival, and its winning films automatically advance to the Academy’s longlist selection process. The festival award thus represents more than an accolade for the film itself: it provides an official route to the next stage of international short animation competition.