The Animation is Film festival returns to the TCL Chinese 6 Theatre in Hollywood for its 9th edition, taking place October 16–19, 2026.
If you are a fan of animation, creative storytelling and being part of a community that loves film, this festival is a must for you!
In addition to its competition program, AIF’s lineup includes studio presentations, retrospective screenings, filmmaker talks, and works-in-progress. Highlights include a special conversation with the founders of Cartoon Saloon, reflecting on 25 years of the studio, a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney Animation’s upcoming HEXED, a rare theatrical presentation of Paramount’s AVATAR AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER, Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 2000 cult classic VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST, and a work-in-progress look at Matt Braly’s independently funded project CLARA AND THE BELOW.
Industry panels include INSIDE ANIMATION, in partnership with UTA, a wide-ranging conversation on the state of animation, from the trends shaping the business to how new voices and projects are breaking through. The discussion will explore the evolving role of representation, what agents look for in emerging talent, and the opportunities defining the next generation of animation.
The schedule and tickets are available at AnimationIsFilm.com
Check out the full line up below:
CHERRY AND VIRGIN
Masanao Kawajiri · Japan · 2026 · West Coast Premiere
Ryo draws erotic manga. Ami is an illustrator and Boys’ Love fan. So far, their love lives exist only on the drawing board and in their heads. Masanao Kawajiri’s formally inventive debut plays with the gap between the worlds we imagine and the reality we inhabit — and the awkward search for love IRL
Director Masanao Kawajiri in attendance.
GHOST – END OF NIGHT
Shingo Natsume · Japan · 2026 · North American Premiere
From Sonny Boy director Shingo Natsume comes his first original feature — a haunting vision of a future where humanity has conquered death. When gifted young administrator Nike begins to question the purpose of her seemingly perfect existence, the virtual world she protects starts to reveal a darker side.
IRON BOY
Louis Clichy · France/Belgium · 2026 · LA Premiere
Eleven-year-old Christophe is a French farm boy with a love of the church organ, an orthopedic brace, and little interest in fitting in. Louis Clichy tells his charming and tender coming-of-age story in exquisite watercolor and ink. Winner of three 2026 Annecy awards.
Director Louis Clichy in attendance.
JIM QUEEN
Nicolas Athané and Marco Nguyen · France/Belgium · 2026 · West Coast Premiere
When a mysterious virus begins turning gay men straight, Parisian influencer Jim sets out to find a cure before the community he rules over disappears. A wildly irreverent adult comedy from Bobbypills. Official Cannes selection.
Director Marco Nguyen in attendance.
JULIÁN
Louise Bagnall · Ireland/Luxembourg/Canada/Denmark · 2026 · US Premiere
Cartoon Saloon’s latest feature brings the beloved picture book Julián Is a Mermaid to the screen. When Julián arrives in Brooklyn to stay with a grandmother he barely knows, he discovers unexpected treasure in her world — and, in the process, much more of himself.
Director Louise Bagnall in attendance.
O FILHO DA PUTA (SON OF A BITCH)
Otto Guerra, Érica Maradona, Tânia Anaya and Sávio Leite · Brazil · 2026 · US Premiere
A three-legged dog, a dusty copy of Moby-Dick and a young repairman desperate to escape his hometown set off on a darkly amusing odyssey toward the ocean. Boldly graphic, irreverent, and full of unexpected turns, their road trip cuts through a distinctly Brazilian world of endearing misfits.
Filmmakers in attendance.
TANGLES
Leah Nelson · Canada/United States · 2026 · LA Premiere
Bittersweet humor and ’90s queer spark run through Leah Nelson’s adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir. A daughter returns to the family she left behind, only to find her mother becoming someone she barely recognizes. With a stellar voice cast including Abbi Jacobson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Beanie Feldstein and Samira Wiley.
Director Leah Nelson in attendance.
THE VIOLINIST
Ervin Han and Raúl García · Singapore/Spain/Italy · 2026 · US Premiere
When a journalist begins asking questions about a celebrated soloist’s violin, the trail leads back to two gifted young musicians in 1930s Singapore. As Fei and Kai’s lives are torn apart by war, their music — and one violin — connects them across decades of history. Winner of the 2026 Annecy Cristal.
Directors Ervin Han and Raúl García in attendance.
VIVA CARMEN!
Sébastien Laudenbach · France/Luxembourg · 2026 · West Coast Premiere
Sébastien Laudenbach (The Girl Without Hands, Chicken for Linda!) brings his bold, expressive style to Bizet’s Carmen, transforming the beloved opera through the eyes of a band of street kids in 19th-century Seville. Color, desire, rebellion — and a new way into a classic.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS & FILMMAKER EVENTS
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING — KNIGHTS OF GUINEVERE
Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen and Zach Marcus · USA · 2026
A planet-wide amusement park floats above a wasteland below, where two overworked friends discover a broken princess android who could be their ticket to a better life — or the beginning of something way darker.
Following its breakout online debut, AIF brings the first two episodes of Dana Terrace’s psychological thriller to the big screen for the first time, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers about the world they’ve created.
Creator Dana Terrace in attendance.
VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST
Yoshiaki Kawajiri · Japan · 2000
When a young woman is kidnapped by a powerful vampire, the enigmatic Vampire D is hired to bring her back — plunging into a dark-fantasy world of monsters, outlaws and ancient bloodlines. Gothic, gorgeous and gloriously bloody, this new HD remaster of Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 2000 cult classic VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST returns to the big screen.
THE ART OF CARTOON SALOON: 25 YEARS AND WOLFWALKERS
Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey and Paul Young · Ireland · 2020
Academy Award-nominated WOLFWALKERS comes to AIF, with Cartoon Saloon founders Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey and Paul Young joining us for a post-screening conversation. The reunion coincides with the release of The Art of Cartoon Saloon: 25 Years, celebrating the studio’s independent and influential creative legacy.
AVATAR AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER
Lauren Montgomery, Steve Ahn and William Mata · USA · 2026
The Avatar returns. Aang, the last Air Nomad and master of all four elements, faces a new threat in the beloved world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. AIF goes behind the scenes in a post-screening filmmaker conversation about bringing Aang’s world back to the screen.
With director Lauren Montgomery in attendance.
BEHIND-THE-SCENES: THE MAKING OF HEXED
Led by the film’s creators, a behind-the-scenes first look at Walt Disney Animation Studios’ highly anticipated upcoming feature HEXED — from first ideas to the characters, world and visual language shaping the film.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS: CLARA AND THE BELOW
From Amphibia creator and award-winning filmmaker Matt Braly comes CLARA AND THE BELOW, his first series from indie studio Fantasy Project. Independently created and funded, the project takes Braly’s distinctive, baroque vision directly to its audience. Join Braly and art director Britney Thoreson for a behind the curtain look at the upcoming film, with artwork and in-process animation, and discussion on the experience of getting an independent animated mini-series off the ground.
SHORT FILM PRESENTATIONS
AIF’s five short film presentations span international festival selections, emerging voices, student work and the year’s best new animation.
SHORT FILMS PROGRAM 01
God Is Shy — Jocelyn Charles · France
Living with a Visionary — Stephen P. Neary · United States
Saba — Liron Topaz · United States / France
Tuna Tartare — Lena Greene · United States
With Tapes and Toasts in the Car — Kiana Naghshineh · Germany / France
SHORT FILMS PROGRAM 02
Acid City — Jack Wedge and Will Freudenheim · United States
Because Today is a Saturday — Alice Eça Guimarães · Portugal / France / Spain
Paper Trail — Don Hertzfeldt · United States
Paradaïz — Matea Radic · Canada
What We Leave Behind — Jean-Sébastien Hamel, Alexandra Myotte · Canada
BEST OF ANNECY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WIA
Blessed — Birute Sodeikaite · Canada
Core Dump — Alona Rodeh · Germany
Daughters of the Late Colonel — Elizabeth Hobbs · United Kingdom / Germany
Hag — Anna Ginsburg · United Kingdom
It’s Not a Phase Mom — Nataël Renault, Tianhui Song, Anna Watson, Léa Mau-Glicenstein, Riley Cords, Reni Park · France
Please — Anna Mantzaris · Sweden / France / Czech Republic / Norway / Finland
Ultra Strong — Catherine Lepage · Canada
Winter in March — Natalia Mirzoyan · Estonia / Armenia / France / Belgium
NEW VOICES IN ANIMATION
bé hồng (Little Persimmon) — Thy Vo, Ivan Gozali, Yusra Shahid, Florence Young, Noël Wiggins, Tracy Liu · United States
Buggie — Ellen Jung · United States
Hot Drop: Lil Gibbos — Arius Ziaee · United States
if(fy) — Osiokeh Ikharo, Lesego Vorster · United States
The Apricot — Alex Z. Avila · Mexico / United States
The Fisherman’s Lullaby — Kaniz Fatema · United States
Wheels and Roses — Pearl Low · United States
Wolpie of the Woods — Kat Messing · United States
STUDENT SHOWCASE
Bringing together next-gen creatives and emerging voices from leading animation schools in the US and around the world, including California Institute of the Arts, University of Southern California, California State University, Long Beach, California State University, Fullerton, ArtCenter College of Design, School of Visual Arts, Gobelins Paris, Supinfocom RUBIKA, MoPA, Royal College of Art and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.
ABOUT ANIMATION IS FILM (AIF)
Animation Is Film is a world-class animation festival with an international profile, based in the world capital of animated filmmaking. By embracing the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, AIF is an international advocate for filmmakers from around the world who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of the medium’s artistic expression. Now in its ninth edition, AIF is produced by GKIDS in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Variety.
Check out our interviews with filmmakers from 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.
— Kari Lane