AnimationXpress is once again serving as the official Indian representative for the DigiCon6 Asia Awards. The awards spotlight bold, original storytelling and creative talent from across Asia, giving Indian filmmakers a chance to compete on a wider international stage.
The 28th DigiCon6 Asia Awards 2026 will bring together some of the country’s most promising creators as part of the annual competition celebrating original and innovative digital content from across Asia.
The Indian selection has been evaluated by a jury bringing together voices from animation, design, filmmaking, media and academia. The jury includes AniMela 2026 festival director Nina Sabnani; AnimationXpress founder, chairman and editor-in-chief Anil NM Wanvari; Charuvi design lab founder and creative director Charuvi Agrawal; Kynzo Media Group founder and CEO Jayakumar Prabhakaran Nair; Zebu Animation Studios founder and creative director Veerendra Patil; Vaibhav More Films founder and director Vaibhav More; and IDC-IIT Powai, Mumbai professor of practice Dhimant Vyas.
The jury’s brief is to identify work that pushes creative boundaries while bringing fresh voices and perspectives to animation and digital storytelling. The winning works go on to represent India at the DigiCon6 Asia Awards organised in Japan.
India’s DigiCon6 Asia winners
Taking the Gold Award is 2D animated film Kingara Kavyam (Poem Of The Enslaved). The project comes from First Print Studios film director Rahul Riji Nair, whose film emerged as the top Indian entry at this year’s competition.
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of 17th-century Cochin, the story follows Kappiri, an African slave, and Kunjala, a local woman, as they form a tender bond amidst the harsh realities of race, oppression and caste. In their world manifested by magical realism, their quiet connection and resilience of love grows threatened by the cruelty of an upper-caste landlord. From Kunjala’s desperate attempt to save Kappiri from being sold off as a part of the slave trade, the story leaps to modern-day Kochi, where reincarnations of the characters meet again, suggesting love and destiny transcend time and history.
The award in the Story category goes to Watermelon Disaster episode five – Varsity Junior series. The project is represented by Zerodha’s Karthik Rangappa and IDC-IIT Bombay adjunct faculty Shyam Wanare, who serve as director and creator on the project.
Synopsis: Varsity Junior’s episode five, Watermelon Disaster, takes kids on a thoughtful journey to understand the idea of risk and reward. When things don’t go as expected, it can leave us confused, worried, and full of questions. Through simple, relatable moments, the kids begin to explore why we take chances in the first place and what we learn when things don’t work out. With a mix of emotions, curiosity, and everyday examples, this episode introduces an important life lesson in a way that’s easy for kids to connect with. What happens when a risk doesn’t pay off?
Meanwhile, the Art Award goes to Jhijhak, created by National Institute of Design, Assam student Jigyasa Gupta.
Synopsis: Jhijhak follows a young girl on a seemingly simple journey to buy a sanitary pad. As she navigates a society burdened by stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation, every step reflects the silence, shame, and hesitation faced by countless women. Ironically, the newspaper, meant to educate and inform society becomes the very object used to hide sanitary pads in the name of shame. Through this powerful visual metaphor, Jhijhak questions why a natural biological process continues to be concealed instead of discussed openly.
The DigiCon6 Asia Awards, organised by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, was established to discover and recognise outstanding digital content creators from Japan and other Asian countries and regions. For Indian creators, the awards offer more than a trophy. They provide a route into a wider Asian creative ecosystem, putting home-grown stories and filmmaking talent on an international stage.
With a new crop of creators ready to make their mark, DigiCon6 Asia 2026 is once again proving that India’s animation scene has plenty of stories left to tell and increasingly, the world is watching.
