The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has officially revealed its full lineup for the 2026 edition, setting up another major year for global animation. The announcement highlights how much the animation space has grown across the world, while also showing the strong presence of European productions, especially from France. The official feature competition includes 11 films. Out of these, six are French productions or co-productions, which once again shows how dominant France remains in this space. Overall, the feature lineup represents 26 countries, spanning across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Artistic director Marcel Jean addressed concerns about a possible slowdown in European animation. He said that the number and quality of films prove otherwise. According to him, the industry does not look like it is in crisis when you look at the strength of the current selection. Some of the most talked-about films in competition include Viva Carmen! by Sébastien Laudenbach and In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen. Both films have a history with Annecy, as they were earlier presented as works-in-progress. Viva Carmen! will premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, while In Waves will open Cannes Critics’ Week. Jean explained that the festival aims to support projects from their early stages and follow them through to completion.
Other competition highlights include films from Spain, Canada, the United States, China, Japan, and Singapore. The variety of countries and styles reflects how animation is now a truly global medium. Alongside the main competition, the Contrechamp section will focus on more experimental and bold storytelling. This section will open with Welcome to Dolly’s House, a Taiwanese film that blends the world of YouTube creators with fantasy.
The festival will also honor major names in animation this year. Mike Judge will receive an Honorary Cristal Award for his long career and impact on adult animation. He is known for co-creating King of the Hill and creating Beavis and Butt-Head. Judge will also take part in a masterclass and present a preview of the upcoming 15th season of King of the Hill. He will be joined by Greg Daniels and Saladin K. Patterson. The Brothers Quay will also be honored with Honorary Cristals. Their work in stop-motion animation has influenced many filmmakers over the years, including Peter Greenaway and Christopher Nolan. They will also deliver a masterclass at the festival. Jean noted that honoring them is important to maintain a balance between large studios and independent creators.
Stop-motion animation will be a major focus at Annecy 2026. The festival will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Aardman Animations, known for Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. Travis Knight will attend the festival for the first time to present footage from his upcoming film Wildwood. Brad Bird will also appear to discuss his long-awaited project Ray Gunn. Ricky Gervais will host a masterclass about his upcoming Netflix animated project Alley Cats. The Mifa animation market will once again run alongside the festival. It will present its Animation Industry Prize to seven French producers behind films like Little Amélie, Butterfly, and Arco. These films have gone on to major awards including the César Awards, Golden Globes, and the Oscars.
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Mifa will also introduce closed-door workshops focused on artificial intelligence and private investment. These sessions are meant to allow industry professionals to openly discuss challenges and future directions. The initiative will run over three years and aims to create practical outcomes for the industry. Jean summed up the current state of animation by saying that many countries now have strong experience in making animated features, something that was not the case ten years ago. He believes that the quality of animation is now strong across the world.
Full 2026 Annecy Lineup:
Competition:
- Viva Carmen! — Directed by Sébastien Laudenbach (France)
- Iron Boy — Directed by Louis Clichy (France, Belgium)
- Decorado — Directed by Alberto Vázquez (Spain)
- The Sunrise File — Directed by Rupert Wyatt and Émilie Phuong (France, Luxembourg)
- In Waves — Directed by Phuong Mai (France, Belgium)
- Lucy Lost — Directed by Olivier Clert (France)
- Nobody — Directed by Shui Yu (China)
- Tana — Directed by Ji Zhao, Ke Er Zhu, Ying Shuang Zhou (China)
- Tangles — Directed by Leah Nelson (Canada, U.S.)
- The Violinist — Directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García (Singapore, Spain, Italy)
- We Are Aliens — Directed by Kohei Kadowaki (Japan, France)
Contrechamp Competition:
- 58th — Directed by Carl Joseph (Philippines)
- A New Dawn — Directed by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya (Japan)
- Blaise — Directed by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue (France)
- O filho da puta — Directed by Érica Maradona, Otto Guerra, Tania Anaya, and Sávio Leite (Brazil)
- Mu Yi and the Handsome General — Directed by Julien Chheng (France)
- Pelelui: Guernica of Paradise — Directed by Goro Kuji (Japan)
- The Orbit of Minor Satellites — Directed by Christopher Sullivan (Japan)
- Spacetime Chronicles — Directed by Stefano Bertelli (Italy)
- The Obsessed — Directed by Wataru Takahashi and Yuki Yoshida (Japan)
- Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope — Directed by Beñat Beitia and Elio Quiroga (Spain, Chile, Argentina)
- Welcome to Dolly’s House — Directed by Seven Ych, Rady Fu, and Tree Muta (Taiwan)
Works in Progress:
- A Gwei — Directed by Hui Yi (China)
- Baahubali: The Eternal War — Directed by Ishan Shukla (India)
- Desechable — Directed by Carlos Gómez Salamanca (Colombia, Spain)
- Igi — Directed by Natia Nikolashvili (Georgia, Greece)
- Killtube — Directed by Kazuaki Kuribayashi (Japan)
- The Wolf — Directed by Benjamin Massoubre and Fursy Teyssier (France, Luxembourg)
- Le Projet Shiatsung — Directed by Brigitte Archambault (Canada)
- Monkey Quest — Directed by David N. Weiss (Japan, USA)
- Ogresse — Directed by Cécile McLorin Salvant (Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, USA)
- Snoopy Unleashed — Directed by Steve Martino (Canada, United Kingdom)
- Steps — Directed by Alyce Tzue and John Ripa (USA)
- Séraphine — Directed by Sarah Van Den Boom (France, Luxembourg, Switzerland)
- Astro Boy Reboot — Directed by Nicolas Hess (France, Germany, Japan)
- Cars: Lightening Racers — Directed by Nathan Chew, Travis Braun, and Frank Montagna (USA)
- Common Side Effects — Directed by Benjy Brooke (USA)
- Hide and Seek — Directed by Fabienne Giezendanner (Switzerland, France)
Midnight Specials:
- Company Sports Day — Directed by Yong-Seon Lee (South Korea)
- Gregor — Directed by Manu Gomez (Belgium, France)
- Sekiro: No Defeat — Directed by Kenichi Kutsuna (Japan)
- Soul Shift — Directed by Christian Franz Schmidt (Germany)
- Zsazsa Zaturnnah — Directed by Avid Liongoren (Philippines, France)
Annecy Presents:
- Brave Cat — Directed by Gabriel Osorio (Chile)
- Julián — Directed by Louise Bagnall (Ireland)
- Born in the Jungle — Directed by Edmunds Jansons (Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic)
- Dante — Directed by Linda Hambäck (Sweden, Denmark, Norway)
- The Promise of the Clock Tower — Directed by Yusuke Hirota (Japan)
- Dudley & the Invasion of the Space Slugs — Directed by Cherifa Bakhti (Luxembourg, Belgium, France, India)
- The Ribbon Hero — Directed by Yuki Igarashi (Japan)
- La Fille dans les nuages — Directed by Philippe Riche (France, Belgium)
- Little Trang Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Buffalo — Directed by Tranh Lam Tung (Vietnam)
- The Last Whale Singer — Directed by Reza Memari (Germany, Czech Republic, Canada)
- Monster Mia — Directed by Verena Fels (Austria, Spain, Germany)
- Samurai Ballerina – L’Étoile de Paris en fleur — Directed by Goro Tanigushi (Japan)
- The Keeper of the Camphor Tree — Directed by Tomohiko Ito (Japan)
- Yugly — Directed by Yanis Belaid and Jérémie Degruson (Belgium)
WTF:
- Babyface (United Kingdom)
- Broc! (Hong Kong)
- I’m Glad I Know That Now Thank You: Phones (United Kingdom)
- I Have an I Have a (United Kingdom)
- I’d Rather Be a Concorde (Belgium, Finland, Portugal)
- King Kong vs. Pinocchio (Canada)
- We’re Kinda Different (Canada)
- Pigeon Businessman (United States)
- Six Finger Satellite “Simian Fever” (United States)
- Skin Flick (France)
- Smokedog (Australia)
- You Are Not Part of the Cake (Taiwan, United Kingdom)
- What Is, Is Now? (The Netherlands)
- cour.com (United Kingdom)
Perspectives:
- Acid City (United States)
- Bucketman (Japan)
- That Night (Iran, United States)
- Chance (Iran)
- Decaer’s Downfall (Colombia)
- Entelechia (Chile)
- Paper Daughter (United States)
- The Comet (Canada)
- The Boa Woman (Peru)
- The Tribulations of Ajadi (Nigeria)
- Misophonia (Malta)
- Because Today Is Saturday. (Portugal, France, Spain)
- Rest (Japan)
- Sundruð (Iceland, France, Belgium)
- Three Pariah Cats (Colombia)
- Once in a Body (Colombia, United States)
- City of Roses (Brazil)
Off-Limits:
- Adage (United Kingdom)
- Core Dump (Germany)
- From Apple to Egg (Estonia)
- The Stars Have Been Watching Us for a Long Time (United States)
- Merrimundi (Chile)
- Symbionts (Switzerland)
- XYZ (Portugal)
- Evacuations (United States)
Young Audience:
- A Dog’s Life (The Netherlands)
- Round Trip (Italy)
- Cosmonaut (Switzerland)
- En, Ten, Týky! (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
- Night Owls (Switzerland)
- Piccolo Piccolo (France, Switzerland)
- Cloudfish (France, Belgium)
- On the Doormat in Front of My Door (Germany)
- Towards the Forest (Switzerland)
- Being Distanced (Unknown)
