Trading Cards - Awards & Official Selections

 

TRADING CARDS: 62 Official Selections, 20 Awards (25 Countries),  

17 Academy Award Qualifying Festival Selections 

(includes 1 Oscar Pathway Festival)

SYNOPSIS: An enigmatic man journeys back in time to find his younger self, seemingly to revisit the nostalgia of trading cards. An exploration of identity, mental health and the erosion of childhood innocence, Trading Cards is a dark fantasy animated film about the weight of living with Obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS 

1) Flickerfest, Sydney, Australia, 23 Jan - 1 Feb 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, WORLD PREMIERE - 25 Jan 2026) 

2) WA Made Film Fest, Perth, Australia, 19 Feb - 1 March 2026

3) Hong Kong International Film Festival (50th HKIFF), Kowloon, Hong Kong, 1-12 Apr 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, INTERNATIONAL & ASIAN PREMIERE - 5 Apr 2026) 

4) Florida Film Festival. Florida, USA, 10-19 Apr 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)

5) Dallas International Film Festival, Texas, USA, 23-30 Apr 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival)

6) Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, California, USA, 30 Apr - 7 May 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival)

7) Animafest Zagreb (World Festival of Animated Film), Croatia, 8-13 June 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, EUROPEAN PREMIERE)

8) Gold Coast Film Festival (SIPFest - Shorts in Paradise), Surfers Paradise, QLD, 2 May 2026

9) Sci-On! - The Biggest Little Science + Fiction Film Festival in the World, Reno, Nevada, USA, 1-3 May 2026

10) Fest Anca, Zilina, Slovakia, 30 June - 5 July 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, SLOVAKIAN PREMIERE)

11) Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Tokyo, Japan, 25 May - 10 June 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, JAPANESE PREMIERE)

12) St Kilda Film Festival, St Kilda, Victoria, 4-14 June 2026, (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, VICTORIAN PREMIERE)

13) Fantasia International Film Festival, Montreal, Canada, 16 July - 2 Aug 2026 (CANADIAN PREMIERE, NOMINEE - Satoshi Kon Award Excellence in Animation)

14) 13th Galacticat International Film Festival in Tàrrega and Ponent, Catalunya, Spain, 24 Sept - 4 Oct 2026

15) Believe Psychology Film Festival,  Pasadena, California, USA 15-17 May 2026 (Nominee)

16) Humboldt International Film Festival, Arcata, California, USA 23-26 Apr 2026

17) South By Southwest SXSW London, UK, 1-6 June 2026 (Top 10 Competition Stream, UK PREMIERE)

18) Raindance Film Festival, London, UK, 17-26 June 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival)

19) deadCenter Film Festival, Oklahoma City, USA, 10-14 June 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival)

20) La Guarimba Film Festival, Cosenza, Italy, 7-12 Aug 2026

21) Under Embargo till Sept 2026 - Goya Qualifying Festival, Spain October 2026  

22) Stay Gold Film Festival, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Sept 2026

23) Under Embargo - till final quarter 2026  (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, Europe)

24) Revelation Film Fest, Perth, Australia, 8-19 July 2026

25) Cinetoile International Film Festival, Nabeul, Tunisia, 1 Aug 2026

26) Palm Springs International ShortsFest, California, USA, 23-29 June 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival) 

27) Electric Film Festival, Poole, England, UK, 13 June 2026

28) Monstro – 6th Jacareí Fantastic Film Festival, Sao Paolo, Brazil, 20-23 Aug 2026

29) LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine, 29 Sept - 4 Oct 2026

30) Tabor New Frame Film Festival,  Veliki Tabor Castle, Croatia, 2-4 July 2026 

31) Creative Circle Awards (Short Film – Sound Design), Margate, England, 1–2 July 2026 (Shortlisted; exhibited at the UK Creative Festival – Best of British Creativity Exhibition)

32) Dark Winterland (Dark Beer Micro Festival), Noosa Hintyerland Brewing, Cooran, Queensland, 4 July 2026

33) Scinema International Science Film Festival, Deakin, ACT, 7-22 Aug 2026 (Finalist)

34) Athens Film Festival, Athens, Georgia, USA 27-30 Aug 2026

35) Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA, 4-9 Aug 2026 (Oscar Pathway for Winners)

36) Sparrowland Short Film Festival, Brisbane, Queensland,  25 July 2026

37) Deauville Green Awards (Young Creative Awards), Paris, France, 10-13 June 2026 

38) Bedford International Film Festival, Virginia, USA, 4 July 2026

39) Silver Frame Film Festival, Srebrenica & Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16-19 July 2026

40) Mount Gretna International Film Festival (MtGIFF), Pennsylvania, USA, 14-16 Aug 2026

41) Seven Issues Film Festival, Paris, France, 17-30 July 2026

42) WA Screen Culture Awards, Leederville, Australia, 16 July 2026 (Nominee Best Short, Animation, Editing, Performance, Directing, Cinematography, Writing, Music)

43) Marrakech Short Film Festival, Morocco, 25-30 Sept 2026

44) Guanajuato International Film Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico 24 July - 2 Aug 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival)

45) International Philosophical Films Festival, Ankara, Tuyrkiye, 23-23 Sept 2026

46) Mountains of Horror Film Festival, Veracruz, Mexico, 8-11 Oct 2026

47) Bolton International Film Festival, UK, 29 Sept - 3 Oct 2026 (BAFTA Qualifying)

48)  Under Embargo Event Sept - (Academy Award Qualifying Festival, USA: Southwest)

49) Animatou, Geneva, Switzerland, 1-10 Oct 2026

50) Under EMBARGO till 8 Aug (Arlington based fest rebranding under a new name) USA, 5-8 Nov 2026

51) Sicani Cinema Experience, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, 5-7 Aug 2026

52) BronzeLens Film Festival, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21-30 Aug 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival)

53) T-Short Animated Film Festival, Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, 27-28 Nov 2026

54) Kobani International Film Festival,  Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, 4-6 Sept 2026

55) 5th International Film Festival of Cinema Guajolote, Zacatlan, Puebla, Mexico, 26 July 2026

56) SMIAF – San Marino International Arts Festival, San Marino, 31 July - 2 Aug 2026

57) The International Alexandria Short Film Festival (IASFF), Alexandria, Greece, 13-19 Sept 2026  

58) Happy Campers: Gone Fishing (a comedy / coming-of-age short film night), Shoreditch, London, UK, 9 Aug 2026

59) 9th Mostra de Cinema de Fama, Minas Gerais, Brazil,   27–30 Aug 2026 

60) The Alexandre Trauner ART/Film Festival, Szolnok, Hungary, 13-18 Oct 2026

61) Pembroke Taparellli Arts and Film Festival, Los Angeles, California, USA, 6-8 Nov 2026

62) Under Embargo till late August, Taiwan

AWARDS

1) Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animated Film - Flickerfest, Sydney, Australia, 23 Jan - 1 Feb 2026 (Academy Award Qualifying Festival) 

2) Best Animation - Humboldt International Film Festival, Arcata, California, USA 23-26 Apr 2026

3) Best International Film -  Gold Coast Film Festival (SIPFest - Shorts in Paradise), Surfers Paradise, QLD, 2 May 2026

4) Artistic Excellence Award - Sci-On! - The Biggest Little Science + Fiction Film Festival in the World, Reno, Nevada, USA, 1-3 May 2026

5) Best Animation - Believe Psychology Film Festival,  Pasadena, California, USA 15-17 May 2026

6) Jury Special Mention - South By Southwest SXSW London, UK, 1-6 June 2026 

7) Best Animation - Electric Film Festival, Poole, England, UK, 13 June 2026

8) Best Screenplay - Electric Film Festival, Poole, England, UK, 13 June 2026

9) Audience Choice Award - Electric Film Festival, Poole, England, UK, 13 June 2026

10) Best Director - Electric Film Festival, Poole, England, UK, 13 June 2026

11) Best Film - Electric Film Festival, Poole, England, UK, 13 June 2026 (BEST OF FEST)

12) Audience Award (Animation) - Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Tokyo, Japan, 25 May - 10 June 2026  (Academy Award Qualifying Festival) 

13) Gold (Short Film – Sound Design) - Creative Circle Awards, Margate, England, 1–2 July 2026

14) Innovation in Short Film - WA Screen Culture Awards, Leederville, Australia, 16 July 2026  (BEST OF FEST)

15) Innovation in Animation - WA Screen Culture Awards, Leederville, Australia, 16 July 2026 

16) Outstanding Achievement in Performance (Jay Jay Jegathesan) - WA Screen Culture Awards, Leederville, Australia, 16 July 2026 

17) Outstanding Achievement in Writing (Radheya Jang) - WA Screen Culture Awards, Leederville, Australia, 16 July 2026 

18) Outstanding Achievement in Original Music (Nicholas Gardiner) - WA Screen Culture Awards, Leederville, Australia, 16 July 2026  

19) Best Animation - Under embargo will 26 July (North America) 

20) Best Animation - Sparrowland Short Film Festival, Brisbane, Queensland,  25 July 2026

 

 

COUNTRIES PLAYED IN (25)

Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkiye, UK (England), Ukraine, USA

CONTINENTS PLAYED IN (6)

Oceania, Asia, North America, Europe, Africa, South America

CREW & CAST

Radheya Jang (Jegatheva) - Writer, Director, Producer, Animator, Editor

Jay Jay Jegathesan - Producer & Narrator

Executive Producer - Bart Yates

Nicholas Gardiner - Original Music

James Utting - Sound Design