It’s become something of a cliché in the past decade or so to produce, in response to someone expressing concern over a new symptom or illness, the stock response ‘don’t Google it!’. This is for good reason; searches like these tend to collate sources with all possible outcomes of said issue or diagnosis, pushing worst case scenarios that understandably receive the most clicks. In an era where search engines now auto generate AI summaries based on the top results, you’re now more likely than ever to Google something innocently and be presented with a dark cloud of worry instead of any kind of clarification.

This is scary enough for grown adults, but what about children? Many now have unrestricted access to every corner of the internet, and though Search Engine Optimisation isn’t the first place we tend to go when worrying about kids online, Google is often the first port of call for questions that really should have been answered ahead of time by parents or professionals.

The result is often a first impression of a condition that’s marred by frightening terms they can barely understand, as has been the case for kids who have searched the phrase ‘what is dyslexia’. The charity Made by Dyslexia has found that 9 out of 10 children who search this phrase feel ‘hopeless or scared about their future’ due to terms like ‘disability’ or ‘lifelong learning disorder’ popping up, rather than more nuanced summaries that highlight the strengths of dyslexic thinkers.

In response, the charity partnered with animation studio Art&Graft to create What is Dyslexia?, a small but mighty film with the ambition to reach the top of Google when its titular phrase is searched. I spoke to Vicky Ghose, Stephen Middleton, and Mike Moloney to learn more about the collaborative process, the making of the film, and where it might go next.

What attracted you to the project and to working with Made by Dyslexia?

The initial idea and the concept of this was so powerful that we thought we couldn’t turn it down. That simple concept [of the What is Dyslexia search] was trying to flip it on its head, wasn’t it? It was like put the positive stuff up front on top when you when you search for it online. So as a young kid or, I guess anybody with dyslexia, is that the first thing that they see about it is positive and not negative.

We thought ‘you know, we’re going to have to do it, and if we do it, we have to absolutely smash it’, because the concept is excellent. Their ambition is absolutely exceptional, we just have to do the idea justice with how we make it. I mean, what an amazing project to be part of!

It’s really intelligent with what it was doing, because it was working with how kids are behaving and how they’re learning these days – hijacking that Google search and making sure we got it where it needed to be, which right was right at the top of the search. It’s not a brief you get very often!

It felt like an opportunity to use our animation superpowers for good, to help reach an audience that that needed it. We knew we weren’t going to make any profit or anything like that. It was an emotional day when it launched, because it got national coverage, and one of the first comments was the heartbreaking: an old man who said, “This is so moving and so incredible. I wish it had been there when I was small because, it’s life changing.”.

Did you design the look of the film with young dyslexic viewers in mind in particular?

I think it was always aimed towards kids and families, but it was important that it was really engaging and fit the bill of being exciting and emotive. The sort of painterly technique and the colors we used helped us make it eye-catching and engaging, and I think it allowed us to communicate a lot more of the film’ emotions and the journey of Lola.

We worked closely from the early stages alongside our director the Made by Dyslexia team, so it was always kind of in those conversations that we find a visual language that felt like it captured like a dyslexic mind. Dyslexic thinking is categorized by Kate, who’s from the Made by Dyslexia charity, as being more unconventional and creative, so the visuals were designed to kind of hang on that a little bit.

The way that light behaves, the way that the texture behaves, it has a kind of life to it and a movement to it which feels unconventional and innately creative. And so it’s trying to reflect in the art direction and the motion technique how a dyslexic mind works.

Art&Graft utilize a broad range of aesthetics and you’ve used a painterly style before for campaigns for Royal Ascot and Google Quantum. Was the technical process similar for What is Dyslexia?

With every project, we like to make life hard for ourselves, and so we try and devise a visual language and an art direction that best suits that particular project. It was certainly the case with this: how can we yeah create a unique art direction and visual language that captures the essence of the script and the message that it’s trying to convey?

We’ve got real kind of mix of talent in in the studio, and this is a combination of obviously a lot of 3D underneath it, but also this kind of hand drawn loose aesthetic as well. So there was quite a bit of R&D that went into finding that visual direction at the start, and we wanted to be ambitious.

Looking through your press and behind the scenes materials, you had quite a few iterations of character designs – how did you land on the final designs in the end?

I think as always with the character design process, a lot of it comes from reference and research and casting and finding similar people, whether that’s in pop culture or actors or anybody you feel like connected. Obviously there are some like famous faces in this as well – hopefully you can recognize some of those guys, like Muhammad Ali and Henry Ford.

It’s always about trying to capture the essence of that person, in a way that feels like it belongs to the world, but without removing too much; asking what’s special about them, and distilling that essence.

When I was watching it, I was first reminded of the kind of the scratchy, anarchic style of the Spider-Verse movies. Were there any inspirations from other animated films or from any other artworks that you had when you were coming up with a style for What is Dyslexia?

I can definitely see the link. I think that sort of movement of the material and the paint is definitely in that space, but we’d always approached it from an art direction point of view, wanting it to feel human and warm and have that like very 2D painterly quality to it. And also to be able to feel that there are these three-dimensional camera movements and a sense of space and depth – you can get the performance out of the characters in the best way in 3D – but that the technique itself feels like it exists within a 2D painterly world.

A lot of the R&D work that the team were doing was trying to blend those two things together, like how much the paint should move, what the colour palette and colour balance should be, and how light behaves. Exploring those things informed where we would go with it, rather than necessarily having those keystone references.

The colours that we went with were quite punchy. It was getting to work with an unconventional colour scheme, really trying those to work together in this black void on top of this kind of hand drawn sketchy style, that led us to the final art direction. Made by Dyslexia also use a very a colour palette that is very bright. It’s a lot to do with the idea of the dyslexic brain, and the metaphor that light is not broken – it refracts.

So you just couldn’t go with the conventional kind of direction, right? It wouldn’t feel right.

How did you find working with Made by Dyslexia and with the central cast of the film?

They are just a brilliant team. I think one of the first things we wanted to do was to get them in the studio and meet them, and just say how much the film means to us and how excited we were to work on it together. This was going to be a long road together, and we wanted them to know what was going to be happening and how it was going to be happening because we needed to do it together.

They have ambitions that a superhero would be proud of, you know? They’re incredible and they really get stuff done, and they’ll find a way of doing things on a shoestring – they got all the actors involved. They’re absolute powerhouses, and lovely people as well, which is just a dream.

They couldn’t wait to see what we shared with them each week, which means a lot when guys are staying late and working really hard, painstakingly making everything perfect. To have it so well appreciated means everything.

It’s Dyslexia Awareness Month in October, so they played the film in Piccadilly Circus and made a link that they could send out to schools to play in assemblies and talk about. For the launch they got in touch with the BFI, who loved it. So had a big launch event at the IMAX, and they got the astronaut Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock to do a talk about her journey with dyslexia. The man who invented the Trunki came to talk, and they invited loads of kids and schools, and it was just a really joyous inspirational event.

Where would you like What is Dyslexia to go next?

I mean, it’s important that it goes everywhere, because that’s the whole point of it. We wanted to create a piece of work which people engage with, whether they were dyslexic or not, and wanted to get it out there just by enjoying it and understanding the importance of sharing. It’s got such a broad appeal – anybody who’s had sort of diagnosis as a kid and feels that they’re possibly limited can identify, and it just shows you that you’re not.

Head to the film’s website to see more of the behind the scenes process and assets.

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Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! (© Stretchy)

Leading kids’ entertainment specialist CAKE and New Zealand’s award-winning animation studio Stretchy have announced that animated feature Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! will hit UK cinemas on 16 October.

Already familiar to UK families through CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, Kiri and Lou now make the leap from five-minute episodes to their first feature-length big-screen adventure.

The feature will open in Odeon and VUE cinemas nationwide through a theatrical distribution partnership between CAKE and AliLeo Media. The 60-minute feature offers a gentle, engaging introduction to the cinema, designed specifically as a “my first film experience” for young children.

Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! follows Lou, a gentle purple creature with an embarrassingly stretchy trunk, as he rescues Kiri, an ungrateful little dinosaur, from a flood — sweeping the pair into the greatest adventure in prehistory. Along the way, they discover that you can find friendship in the wildest places.

Based on the BAFTA-nominated, internationally acclaimed animated series which first premiered in the UK on CBeebies in 2020, the 60-minute prequel had its international premiere in official selection at the Annecy International Film Festival in June, followed by a successful theatrical release in Australia and New Zealand via Vendetta Films.

As the first feature-length stop-motion film made in New Zealand, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is a landmark for New Zealand animation and the latest chapter in the international success of a much-loved local creation. Handmade by Stretchy in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, and Hinterland, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! features the voices of Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Moana, Rio, What We Do In the Shadows and Disney’s Alice and Steve) as Lou and Olivia Tennet (The Lord of the Rings, Power Rangers RPM) as Kiri. Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is written and directed by Harry Sinclair with visual development by Ant Elworthy (Pinocchio, Isle of Dogs, Ma vie de Courgette, Coraline) and music and songs by Don McGlashan in collaboration with Harry Sinclair (The Front Lawn).

Dominic Gardiner, MD Distribution at CAKE said:

Ever since Kiri and Lou became a beloved fixture for UK families on BBC iPlayer, audiences have embraced its signature warmth, humour, and emotional honesty. Premiering Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! on big screens across the UK is a major milestone and we are delighted to partner with AliLeo Media to bring this charming, handcrafted prehistoric adventure to cinemas—giving young children and parents a whole new way to experience Kiri and Lou together.

Writer/director, Harry Sinclair, said:

The film has allowed us to take a leap into an epic space, with epic emotion and epic fun, as it tells the story of how Kiri and Lou became friends. At its heart, it speaks about how we can reach out to others — how we can let go of suspicion and fear and embrace the possibilities of growing up and exploring our world. How we can move beyond the selfishness of contemporary life and learn to share the world and care about the other, even if the other is completely different from us.

Fiona Copland, Stretchy Producer, said:

We really wanted to make a film that would entertain the whole family, with layering for parents and the older siblings of pre-school children. It’s been great seeing adults full of emotion in screenings while their kids are just laughing their heads off.

Annie Murray, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Film Commission, said:

Great storytelling travels, and Kiri and Lou are wonderful proof of that. As New Zealand’s first feature-length stop-motion film, this is a landmark achievement for Stretchy and our animation community. Handmade in Christchurch, the film retains the warmth, originality and unmistakably New Zealand character that audiences first fell in love with, while taking Kiri and Lou into an ambitious new big-screen adventure. We’re thrilled that families across the UK will now have the chance to experience it together in cinemas.

Greta D’Este-Donelan, Director at AliLeo Media, said:

Great storytelling deserves to be experienced on the big screen, and we’re delighted to partner with CAKE to bring Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! to cinemas across the UK. At the heart of this wonderful film there is a story about friendship, curiosity and embracing what makes us unique – themes that will resonate with children and families alike. For AliLeo Media, bringing Kiri and Lou to cinemas is also about creating memorable experiences for the audiences of the future, and we are thrilled to play a part in introducing this much-loved property to a new generation of cinemagoers.

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Leading UK independent producer and distributor Acamar Films has announced a new agreement to launch its award-winning preschool series Bing on Disney+ across EMEA.

This new SVOD agreement builds on Bing’s international success and marks a significant expansion of the show’s international footprint in support of Acamar’s strategy to establish Bing as a global evergreen character.

Following the successful launch of Bing on Disney+ in Italy, customers across Europe are now able to enjoy 104 episodes of the preschool series in 14 local languages across the following 17 territories across EMEA:

• UK and Ireland
• France
• Italy
• Austria
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Spain
• Portugal
• The Netherlands
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden
• Czechia
• Poland
• Central Eastern Europe (excluding Hungary)
• Greece
• Malta
• Cyprus

Bing has been developed to support healthy child development through its expert-led storytelling and characters. Since its debut, Bing has become a cherished part of the daily lives of young children across the world, offering a powerful tool to support the healthy early development and emotional resilience of young children, through its authentic expert-led storytelling and characters.

Mikael Shields, CEO of Acamar Films and Producer of Bing, added: “We are all grateful to have this extraordinary support from the Disney+ team in Europe. Our launch brings Bing to a vast new audience across EMEA. We’re thrilled that many more children across Europe are now able to enjoy Bing in their own language.”

The Disney+ agreement builds on Bing‘s continued international growth, with the series now licensed in 163 territories globally. Created by Acamar Films in partnership with Brown Bag Films, Bing premiered on the BBC’s CBeebies, where it remains a leading title.

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“These are not easy times for culture – and that also applies to artistic animated film, which unfortunately still receives too little support,” explains Pia Djukic, the festival’s artistic director. She adds that the festival offers a space for outstanding filmmakers to share their work and connect with industry colleagues and Berlin audiences, and hopes that this year’s event will inspire even more people to discover a passion for animation.

Festival focus: “Motion Handmade”

Under the theme “Motion Handmade”, the festival places a special focus on stop-motion animation – its materials and diverse techniques, as well as the collaboration that makes the final result possible. In this spirit, the FAB trailer was created as a playful collaborative project that also pays tribute to Berlin, shot at recognisable locations around the city and entirely outside the animation studio. The renowned directors Felicia Bergström, Alberto Couceiro, Matthias Daenschel, Jan Gadermann (Student Academy Award 2022 for LAIKA & NEMO), Tine Kluth (Grimme Prize 2023 for the SANDMÄNNCHEN episode RECYCLING-MASCHINE), Izabela Plucińska (Silver Bear 2005 for JAM SESSION) and Dina Velikovskaya have combined their distinctive artistic styles using a wide range of techniques – from clay and other forms of stop-motion animation to experimental analogue processes and digital compositing.

A first taste of the stop-motion focus will be offered on 2 October: at the Stop Motion Walk, an oversized bear figure on a bicycle created by Dina Velikovskaya and Sana Schönle will be brought to life frame by frame in front of Berlin’s Rotes Rathaus from 3 pm. The event celebrates the art of handmade animation while also drawing attention to the funding challenges facing the animation scene.

The FAB competitions

With programmes for every age group, the FAB competitions cover the full spectrum of animated short film, including commissioned work. A selection jury comprising around 25 film and culture professionals has chosen 161 films from 78 countries out of 791 submissions for the competition sections Pink Panda (pre-school, primary school and teens), New Talents, International Animated Film, German Animated Film and Animated Commissioned Film. As usual, the German Animated Film competition will open the festival, following an interdisciplinary performance by Semion Bazavlouk.

Horror film special and further highlights

At their best, horror films are more than just shockers: their social commentary can leave a lasting impact. Max Breckwoldt, a cultural practitioner and scholar specialising in horror film, has curated three programmes for the festival together with artistic director Pia Djukic: Everything Under Control (Promise), with a sci-fi focus (Horror Programme I); It’s Probably Nothing, exploring body horror (Horror Programme II); and There’s Nothing Unusual Out There, which explores folk horror (Horror Programme III). Among the films shown are several international award-winning audience favourites.

Further film specials include Ashkan Rahgozar’s Iranian feature JULIET AND THE KING, inspired by Disney’s Golden Age, and a competition programme from London’s Factual Animation Film Festival (FAFF), which has been dedicated exclusively to animated documentaries since 2015.

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© DreamWorks Animation

The Savannah College of Art and Design’s 29th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival (Oct. 24-31) announced programming for this year’s Pixels and Pencils, presented in partnership with Variety. Now in its fifth year, the signature animation series highlights the directors behind the year’s most acclaimed animated features and culminates in the annual roundtable moderated by Variety’s chief awards editor, Clayton Davis.

The selected films and their directors are:

• Forgotten Island (Dreamworks Animation), dirs. Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
• Hoppers (Pixar), dir. Daniel Chong
• Tangles (IFC), dir. Leah Nelson
• Ray Gunn (Netflix), dir. Brad Bird
• Wildwood (Laika), dir. Travis Knight

The panel has become a key destination for animated contenders during awards season, with previous participants including Academy Award-nominees Arco, Elio, KPop Demon Hunters, and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. KPop Demon Hunters went on to receive an Academy Award.

The eight-day festival is the largest university-run film festival in the world and welcomes approximately 75,000 attendees each year for exclusive screenings, panel discussions, workshops, and appearances from leading names in Hollywood and world cinema.

Festival passes for 2026 are available now. Individual event tickets go on sale Friday, Oct. 2, and will be available online at filmfest.scad.edu, by phone at 912.525.5050, or in person at the SCAD Box Office (scadboxoffice.com) at 216 E. Broughton St. in Savannah.

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Image: WildBrain

Ahead of launch, WildBrain unveiled the official series trailer and poster art, offering fans their first glimpse at the full cast of Strawberry’s Berry Besties—including beloved characters Orange Blossom, Blueberry Muffin, Huckleberry Pie, Raspberry Tart, Apple Dumplin’ and Custard—in their all-new CG looks inspired by their classic 1980s designs.

Building global momentum towards Strawberry Shortcake’s 50th anniversary in 2028, the franchise has also launched its “Purrfect Pets” campaign celebrating the beloved animal companions of Strawberry Shortcake and her Berry Besties through new content, activities and pet-inspired products, which will be followed by the “Berry Bake Shop” campaign in fall 2027 celebrating the friendships formed while sharing sweet treats and special moments together. New content, brand campaigns and fan activations continue to celebrate the World of Strawberry Shortcake and her friends, creating fresh opportunities for fans and partners to embrace the franchise’s enduring themes of friendship, kindness and community.

Fans love Strawberry Shortcake because of the warm memories of childhood the brand evokes and the shared experiences they have with their kids today. People who grew up with the brand continue to find new ways to engage with it, while a whole new generation of young kids are discovering her for the first time. That enduring connection, supported with fresh content and new consumer products, is creating exciting opportunities for fans and partners alike as Strawberry Shortcake heads towards her 50th anniversary in 2028.

-Ben Peace, EVP Franchise, WildBrain

To learn more about WildBrain’s licensing partnerships for Strawberry Shortcake, visit wildbrain.com

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The French Institute in London presents a selection of new animation films alongside classics as part of the 25th Fête du Cinéma d’Animation. Intended for audiences of all ages, the festival will take place from 4 to 31 October at Ciné Lumière.

The programme will feature LAIKA Studios’ highly anticipated new fantasy adventure, Wildwood (30 & 31 October and 1 November). Set in an enchanted forest hidden just beyond Portland, Oregon, the film follows headstrong teenager Prue McKeel on a desperate rescue mission after her baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows.

Among the programme’s highlights are the London premieres of two acclaimed new animated features.
Winner of the Paul Grimault Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes 2025, Dandelion’s Odyssey (11 October) brings tiny seeds to life, giving them personalities and a remarkable sense of bravery, as they journey through uncharted landscapes in search of a new home.

Mary Anning (13 October: School Screening, 17 & 27 October) introduces audiences to the childhood of the celebrated palaeontologist, as a 12-year-old young girl determined to make her mark in a world designed for men. The screenings will be preceded by recorded Q&As with director Marcel Barelli and Production Designer Marjolaine Perrenten.

The festival will also present Antoine Lanciaux’s first feature-length film, a joyful story brought to life through the meticulous art of cut-out animation. The Songbird’s Secret (10 October) follows nine-year-old Lucie, who joins her archaeologist mother Caroline in the countryside for the holidays, only to discover some secrets about her family. The screening will be preceded by a recorded Q&A with director Antoine Lanciaux.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary Aardman studio, audiences can enjoy Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (24, 25 & 29 October), followed by a free clay stop-motion animation workshop on 29 October.

A landmark of animation, Of Stars and Men will receive a special screening in a recently restored print on 18 October. Created by legendary animation duo John and Faith Hubley and inspired by the 1959 book by astronomer Harlow Shapley, the film follows a young boy crowned King of Beasts as he begins to question humanity’s place in the universe. Winner of the Special Jury Award at the 1962 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the film will be introduced by Natasha Orlando Kappler, founder of Reverie Cineclub, who will also lead a paint-animation workshop following the screening.

A selection of French animated shorts for Adults (15 October) and for Young Audiences (28 October), along with screenings of the remastered print of Animal Farm by Joy Batchelor & John Halas (28 & 29 October) and Relaxed Screenings such as Alfredo Soderguit‘s Anina (4 October) complete the programme.

Click here to view the Programme

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Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), the UK’s only Oscar® and BAFTA®‑qualifying animation festival, unveils its 2026 programme – an ambitious and diverse celebration of animation in all its forms. Running from 8-12 November at HOME and venues across Manchester, this year’s festival brings an exciting mix of premieres, exclusive previews and behind‑the‑scenes insights, with a continued commitment to championing handmade, human storytelling at the heart of the artform.

This year’s line‑up features an exceptional slate of studio showcases, premieres and behind‑the‑scenes sessions in Manchester. Lupus Films presents the UK international premiere of Mog’s Bad Thing, accompanied by an in‑depth look at adapting Judith Kerr’s beloved picture book, (HarperCollins Children’s Books), for the screen with the creative team behind the film. LAIKA – the award‑winning studio behind Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings – attends the festival for the first time, presenting a special screening of its latest feature Wildwood, with an exclusive making‑of session exploring the studio’s signature craft and innovation. LAIKA – the award‑winning studio behind Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings – attends the festival for the first time, presenting a special screening of its latest feature Wildwood, with an exclusive making‑of session exploring the studio’s signature craft and innovation.

Adding to these headline events, this year’s animation focus, Mexico in Motion ​- delivered in association with the British Council ​- will welcome Angélica Lares, Head of Studio at El Taller del Chucho, the acclaimed stop‑motion studio known for its work on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – who will go behind the scenes and meet the directors and craftspeople who bring their unforgettable award-winning worlds to life.   Another major highlight of this year’s programme is a passholders‑only preview of Ray Gunn, the new sci‑fi action feature from animation legend Brad Bird, giving festival audiences a rare first-look ahead of its December launch on Netflix.

Artist talks this year include a session from Sweden‑based, BAFTA and BIFA‑nominated filmmaker Ida Melum – known for Ovary Acting and Night of the Living Dread, and the only director to have won the MAF Audience Award twice. AJ Jeffries will also host an in-depth artist talk following his MAFter Dark win last year for his dark comedy Ducks.

This year’s out‑of‑competition line-up includes a special preview of DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming adventure‑comedy Forgotten Island, while Cartoon Saloon presents the hand‑drawn mermaid tale Julián. French adult animated comedy Jim Queen adds a bold, irreverent perspective to the programme, bringing fresh LGBTQIA+ representation to the festival’s international line‑up. The programme also features a rare screening of The Adventures of Prince Achmed, marking the 100th anniversary of Lotte Reiniger’s pioneering animated film.

MAF 2026’s international feature film competition showcases an exciting global line‑up of four distinctive titles. The French coming‑of‑age drama In Waves alongside French comedy Blaise, the Japanese sci‑fi feature We Are Aliens, France’s contemporary musical Viva Carmen, and South Korea’s high‑energy action‑comedy Brave Cat bring together a mix of genres, cultures and creative talent, highlighting the breadth and ambition of this year’s competition.

We’re really excited that MAF is back to showcase the beauty of animation, and during these tricky times, provide a pause in the calendar for film fans to come together and celebrate the human-made brilliance that goes into animation, to connect, learn, and enjoy the best of the big screen.

With an international banquet of shorts and features, masterclasses and studio talks from the world’s finest animation talent, as well as compelling panels, insightful workshops and spectacular socials, there’s something for everyone in MAF 2026. We can’t wait to welcome audiences back to Manchester this November for the UK’s largest animation celebration.

Steve Henderson, Festival Director

Following Aardman’s recent 50th anniversary milestone, Co-founder Peter Lord will be joined by director/animator Will Becher and Creative Director of IP Development Nat McKay for a special conversation looking ahead to the studio’s next ‘50 Years of Clay’. Industrial Light & Magic returns to explore the future of video content in a dedicated session, while BBC Studios Kids & Family presents the making of Vanishing Point, its first animated episodic drama for CBBC. Bradley Harris of Krygon Studios will lead a session supported by EPIC Games  exploring the cutting edge of real‑time filmmaking and animation, while the challenges presented by AI across the industry will be examined in depth throughout the programme. A series of events will look at how creators can stay innovative and resilient as the impact of AI continues to shape industry debate. The latest in VR will be showcased through the Animated Immersive Experience events, while a wide range of opportunities for celebration, conversation and creative exchange will run throughout the week. Adult animation specialist Mark Taynton also returns to host the much‑loved Live Drawing Challenge, alongside a lively mix of evening socials throughout the festival.

The festival’s annual awards ceremony – this year presented by writer, comedian and actor Molly McGuiness – will take place on 12 November, celebrating outstanding achievements across British Film, Feature Film, Short Film, Student Film, Commissioned Film, Immersive Work, Children’s Shorts and the Audience Award. Winners will receive the coveted Manchester Animation Festival trophy, handcrafted by renowned North‑West model makers Mackinnon & Saunders. The ceremony also features the Industry Excellence Awards, recognising professionals in writing, storyboarding, character design, and character animation.

Beyond screenings and awards, MAF 2026 offers key industry engagement opportunities, including the return of the Animation Nation Forum, supported this year by Manchester City Council, with sector‑focused panels and discussions. The Bridgewater Hall marketplace – free to attend – facilitates networking between studios, recruiters and animation professionals. The Young Animator of the Year Awards also return, spotlighting emerging talent across 2D, 3D and stop‑motion, with a programme of inspiring YAY events including a special talk from Aardman’s Gav Strange. The festival additionally presents a dedicated family day, featuring hands‑on activities and interactive experiences designed to engage younger audiences and future creatives.

Manchester Animation Festival is presented with the support of Higher Education Partner University of Salford, Festival Partner HOME, and Festival Patrons BBC Children’s, BBC Studios, Blue Zoo Animation Studio, Channel 4, Epic Games, Industrial Light & Magic, Manchester Metropolitan University, Nottingham Trent University, Sue Terry Voices and Universal Pictures. Additional Event Supporters include Aardman Animations, Animation UK, Leeds Arts University, Locksmith Animation, ScreenSkills, Spud Gun Studios and TVPaint, alongside Marketplace Supporters Marks & Clerk, Wacom and HUE.

Tickets are on sale now. For full programme details and updates, visit www.manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk

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ANIMASYROS 2026 awards

ANIMASYROS 2026 had it all: 7 action-packed days and the biggest and most ambitious programme to date, featuring 280 films – the very best of international animation, leading guests from around the world, 7 competition sections, 6 themed tributes (Ireland, Freedom 250 featuring classic Disney films, the Royal College of Art, Lebanon, Armenia, and New Voices of German Animation), the established International Panorama, specially selected films for children, original workshops for all ages, and an extensive Agora programme, bringing together the global animation community with more than 100 professionals from 20 countries. The festival also welcomed visitors from around the world who travelled to Greece for the first time for ANIMASYROS, alongside the Festival’s beloved returning friends who, for 19 years, have been meeting every September on the island of Syros.

Please (Anna Mantzaris) – International Competition Award ANIMASYROS

ANIMASYROS 2026 Awards

Grand Prize – International Competition:
Please (Anna Mantzaris, SE/FR/CZ/NO/FI, 2026, 8′)

Best Greek Film Award:
The Dog (Konstantinos Demis, GR, 2025, 11’48”)

Students Section Award:
Gauze (Noran Fikri Alezabi, Nicholas Arujah, Xinyue Ma, Yulin YUE & Xiaonan Zhou, FR, 2025, 7’47”)

TV & Commissioned films Award:
Saltwater (Eilidh Nicoll, GB, 2026, 3’30”)

ANIMAPRIDE Award:
Eyeliner (Aisha Boudjillouli, GB, 2026, 8’30”)

K.ID.S Award:
The Eagle and the Kinglet (Paul Jadoul, BE/FR, 2024, 6’15”)

Audience Feature Award:
Unstoppable (Martin Lund, ΝΟ, 2026, 80′)

The Dog (Konstantinos Demis) – ANIMASYROS Greek Competition Award

A big congratulations to all the winners!

ANIMASYROS will return on 20-26 September 2027.

The post ‘Please’ Takes the Grand Prize and ‘The Dog’ Wins Best Greek Film at ANIMASYROS 2026 appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

With over 4,000 Escapees working across film, TV, games and immersive experiences, our community is connected to leading studios and creative opportunities.

Come and experience our undergraduate open day. Explore our courses, tour our studios, meet industry-experienced tutors, speak with Admissions and get portfolio advice.

The post Escape Studios Undergraduate Open Day (on-campus) – Afternoon appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

With over 4,000 Escapees working across film, TV, games and immersive experiences, our community is connected to leading studios and creative opportunities.

Come and experience our undergraduate open day. Explore our courses, tour our studios, meet industry-experienced tutors, speak with Admissions and get portfolio advice.

The post Escape Studios Undergraduate Open Day (on-campus) – Morning appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

With over 4,000 alumni working across film, TV, games and immersive experiences, our community is connected to leading studios and creative opportunities.

Join our online undergraduate open day to explore our courses, hear from industry-experienced tutors, get your questions answered by Admissions and discover how to build a portfolio for your future creative career.

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Encounters Film Festival welcomed thousands of visitors to Bristol for its 2026 edition, reinforcing its position as one of Europe’s leading showcases for film in all its forms. This year’s edition recorded its highest box office in the festival’s 31-year history. Box office revenue was up 22% on the previous record year, and paid ticket sales were up 67% year on year with unique ticket buyers up 58% and total attendance up a third on last year.

ANIMATED ENCOUNTERS GRAND PRIX

HAG dir. Anna Ginsburg

The Animated Encounters Jury (Grant Orchard, Joanna Hepworth and Rayna Denison) said:

Chosen for its confident storytelling and original aesthetic vision. An insightful and funny take on women’s aging in contemporary society.

Anna Ginsburg said:

Team HAG are absolutely delighted!!! Wow! What a win!

BEST OF BRITISH (ANIMATION)

I HAVE A dir. Rory Waudby-Tolley

A touching and relatable vision of modern life, this film was well-written, original and surprisingly moving.

Special Mention

DUCKS dir. AJ Jefferies

Inventive, well-paced, hilarious and terrifying.

DOCUMENTARY ENCOUNTERS

Grand Prix: UNCLE FILMI dir. Nazgol Kashani

The Documentary Encounters Jury (Mandy Chang, Nick Jones and Nariman Massoumi) said:

We were blown away by this beautiful animated documentary about family hair removal and VHS Hollywood bootlegs in post-revolutionary Iran. We loved the imaginative rendering of archive and animation and the careful proximity between tragedy and humour. A wonderfully playful film about laughter, resistance and resilience in dark times.

Nazgol Kashani said:

We were already excited for Uncle Filmi to have its world premiere at Encounters, and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to its journey than receiving this award. We are grateful to the jury for recognising the film, and loved reading their words about it. It made us feel the film had done what we hoped it would.

DEPICT PRIZE

SAUSAGE POEM dir. Rob Ling

The live-action recipients of the 2026 Encounters awards are: Hyena by Altay Ulan Yang (Brief Encounters Grand Prix), Paper Plane by Saoirse Ronan (Best of British Live Action), Lovely by Jasmine Blackborow (South West Showcase), Uncle Artoo by Zoë Whittaker (Children’s Jury Winner) and The Devil Is In Me by Tia Salisbury (Audience Award Live Action).

Encounters is a globally renowned short film festival that takes place each September in Bristol, a UNESCO City of Film. Encounters is a qualifying festival for BAFTA, BIFA and the European Film Awards. It provides an international platform for celebrating talent and innovation in film, animation and TV.

The 2026 edition concluded with a special closing‑night celebration at Wake the Tiger, bringing filmmakers, partners and industry guests together for an immersive finale to the festival.

The festival is supported by BFI Film Audience Network, the University of Bristol, UWE Bristol, Eventive, MUBI, the British Council and Aardman Animations, with partners including Crack Magazine, Warp Records, Simple Things, Invada and others.

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Praying Mantis by Joe Hsieh

Written and directed by Kadowaki, We Are Aliens premiered during the Quinzaine des Cinéastes at the Cannes Film Festival. At the OIAF Awards Ceremony, the festival’s feature animation jury praised the film for its exploration of everyday life, its animation and the sensitivity given to the characters.

A powerful exploration of maternal instinct, Hsieh’s Praying Mantis is eligible for consideration for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film following its win at OIAF.

Thérien’s Ball Face, a claymation short about the embarrassment and anxiety of trying to fit in, also won the Public Prize, the Hélène Tanguay Award for Humour, the Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation and the Canadian Student Award.

We Are Aliens by Kohei Kadowaki

This year’s all-Canadian jury brought together leading voices in animation from across the country. The features jury was formed by Luc Chamberland, Lillian Chan and Alisi Telengut, while the shorts jury included Dave Cooper, Barry Doupé and Alexandra Myotte.

The Kids Jury, made up of Ottawa-area children ages 8 to 12, selected the winners of the Young Audiences 7+ competition, while this year’s Teen Audiences 13+ competition was decided by the Teen Public Vote.

In keeping with tradition, the OIAF 2026 award statues were designed by Ottawa-based scrap metal artist Tick Tock Tom. The statues are working phénakisticopes featuring an animation by New York artist George Griffin.

The festival returns next year from September 24 to 28 for its 51st Anniversary, featuring a poster designed by Sun Xun.

The complete competition prize winner list

Grand Prize for Short Animation

Winner: Praying Mantis (dir. Joe Hsieh)

Jury Comment: For its ability to take us into the selfless depths of maternal instincts using sharp metaphorical imagery, fully realized internal logic, and purposeful, powerful touches of violence.

Grand Prize for Animated Feature

Winner: We Are Aliens (dir. Kohei Kadowaki)

Jury Comment: For its skillfull capture of the incredible drama and absurdity of life. With a twisted sense of humour, where coincidences and silly entanglements gradually reveal themselves as simple but painful misunderstandings, this film is about many seemingly ordinary stories that happen to us and around us all the time, but usually go unnoticed. Different points of view, with inventive mise-en-scène, and poetic perspectives make us see familiar uneventful things in a new light. Presented as a series of everyday tableaux, these moments have a poetic musicality that suddenly bursts with dark or wonderful meaning, leaving us to imagine all the possible fates that are part of our everyday life. The animation and the sensitivity given to the characters caught in the traps of life are truly remarkable. A feast for the eyes and the senses.

Honourable Mention: Magic Atlas (dir. Sun Xun)

Jury Comment: For its extraordinary craftsmanship, made frame by frame with woodcut animation and ink painting, this animated feature has remarkable visual richness and texture. Its unconventional narrative unfolds through layers of metaphor. It tells a political fable, and it ends with a spiritual outlook. We admire the director’s courage in using animation to criticize dictatorship and other forms of authoritarian power.

Honourable Mention: Tangles (dir. Leah Nelson)

Jury Comment: For its exploration of an experience that, while deeply personal to some, carries a universal resonance for us all. This film is about love, loss, and the enduring connections that shape our lives. Funny, heartfelt, and ultimately heartbreaking, the film stayed with us. We were blown away by its beautiful animation, emotional depth, and cinematic execution.

Public Prize

Winner: Ball Face (dir. Laurence Thérien)

The Canada Media Fund Award for Best Canadian Animation

Winner: La comète (The Comet) (dir. Julie Charette)

Comment: For its understated, perceptive storytelling and its intelligent depiction of the sometimes painful processes of growing up.

Honourable Mention: Bisou Sauvage (dir. Bahji Jaroudi)

Comment: For its arresting animation and its wicked, incisive sense of humour about modern times.

Honourable Mention: Knowing Gaze (dir. Dylan Glynn)

Comment: For its vibrant animation style and its witty take on complex contemporary issues of identity.

Hélène Tanguay Award for Humour

Winner: Ball Face (dir. Laurence Thérien)

Comment: There were many contenders, but few films made us laugh quite as much while repeatedly smashing a child in the face with a ball. What begins as the familiar nightmare of school gym class becomes something wonderfully strange, funny and increasingly unhinged. The clay itself seems to take the beating along with its heroine—stretching, squashing and reshaping as she desperately tries to adapt, survive and somehow fit in. And knowing Hélène, she would have been gifting the cinema with her big, boisterous laugh throughout Ball Face.

Animated Short Competition – Category Prizes

Best Animated Short Award

Winner: Eri (dir. Honami Yano)

Jury Comment: For its living poetry of both images and words that depict a love that remains unmet, this film carries us through a lyrical pasture like wind through grass with thick painterly strokes.

Best Commissioned Animation

Winner: Juana Molina ‘Desinhumano’ (dir. Dante Zaballa)

Jury Comment: For its use of deceptively simple handmade forms, in a time of increasingly computer-aided animation, we found this film refreshingly joyful and tactile.

Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation

Winner: Ball Face (dir. Laurence Thérien)

Jury Comment: For its ability to take the embarrassment of youth and distill it into a mature, concise film that resonated beyond its initial comedic impression.

Canadian Student Award

Winner: Ball Face (dir. Laurence Thérien)

Comment: For capturing the absurdity and anxiety of masking, adjusting and trying to fit in, with clay animation proving the perfect medium for a story about literally reshaping yourself to belong. Its bright, candy-coloured world gives the film a playful lightness, even as it moves between comedy and something quietly heartbreaking — that familiar memory of what we were willing to do during our school years just to fit in.

Honourable Mention: Mortal Lace (dir. Lucas Piperias)

Honourable Mention: Expo Inferno (dir. A. John Yates)

Animation for Teen Audiences 13+ Competition

Winner: Blue Flavored (dir. Jett Ulysses)

Honourable Mention: La comète (The Comet) (dir. Julie Charette)

Animation for Young Audiences 7+ Competition

Winner: Candy Caries (dir. Tomoki Misato)

Honourable Mention: Bats and Bugs (dir. Lena von Döhren)

Platform Animation Competition

Winner: Adult Swim’s The Elephant (dirs. Pendleton Ward, Rebecca Sugar, Ian Jones-Quartey, Patrick McHale, Mike L. Mayfield, Humberto Irigoyen, Remus Buznea, and Kyriaki Kyriakou)

Comment: For the spirit of the anijam — or, more precisely, the old exquisite-corpse game — this three-part experiment brings together some of the defining voices in contemporary animation. Each team worked in isolation, with essentially no idea what the others were making, and somehow these wildly different pieces eventually had to become one film.

The result could easily have been a complete mess. Instead, it’s a bizarre, vivid and mysterious visual and narrative adventure — unpredictable from moment to moment, but never less than engaging. And frankly, it would be good to see more studios show this kind of boldness and openness to experimentation, creating work that breaks away from the increasingly tedious reliance on conventional linear storytelling.

Animated Short Competition – Craft Awards

Best Script

Winner: Uka-uka (dir. Henri Veermäe)

Jury Comment: For its complex arrangement of themes from the viewpoint of a child that is presented with a tender yet cruel frankness that took us off guard. This film’s sudden turn showed us resiliency in difficult situations.

The Animation Guild Craft Award for Best Design

Winner: When the Sea was Calm (dir. Mamuka Tkeshelashvili)

Jury Comment: For its mixture of bliss and horror that was acutely felt through its impeccably realized construction, we were taken into its rich character and setting design from its first frame.

XPPen Craft Award Prize for Best Animation Technique

Winner: Daughters of the Late Colonel (dir. Elizabeth Hobbs)

Jury Comment: For its economic use of mark making to create a vast space open for the imagination to move freely in.

Best Sound Design

Winner: Paper Trail (dir. Don Hertzfeldt)

Jury Comment: For its claustrophobic symphony of tactile foley scratches, squeaks, scrapes and rubs, this film gave us pause to consider the inevitable inertia of shrinking into adulthood.

50 in 50 – Our Favourite Canadian Animated Shorts – Awards

OIAF Team Choice: The Big Snit (dir. Richard Condie)

Public Prize: Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics (dir. Terril Calder)

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New Main Visual by Honami Yano

The main visual for the second ANIAFF was created by Honami Yano, whose work has received international recognition. Her short film A Bite of Bone (2021) won the Grand Prize for Short Animation at the 45th Ottawa International Animation Festival. Her latest work Eri (2026) was officially selected for the 58th Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

Commenting on the visual, Yano said:

A vortex. Movement. Gathering. ANIAFF is a place where diverse animated works from Japan and around the world come together, offering encounters with new worlds and new works. I envisioned these encounters as a single vortex rising from the earth toward the sky. The deer and birds at its center, together with the rabbits dancing after them, embody the energy of everyone who gathers for the festival. Through the dynamic motion that emerges between one frame and the next—the essence of animation—I sought to reflect the spirit of the festival in its visual identity.

All-Night Screening: “The World of Kenji Kamiyama”

Throughout his career, Kenji Kamiyama has explored forward-looking themes across a diverse body of work. Through screenings and talks, this all-night program takes a closer look at his creative world through the lens of animation, the future, and technology.

The program will feature four works spanning Kamiyama’s career, including Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Kamiyama will also attend the festival for a talk exploring his work and creative vision.

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The Tokyo CINEMASTERS International Film Festival (TCIF) is now accepting animated short films for its Best Animated Short award. The festival’s 4th edition takes place on November 11, 2026 at J:COM Urayasu Concert Hall, a 303-seat theatre-style concert hall just outside Tokyo, where the selected films are screened on the big screen and the category winners are announced on the night.

Animation is one of TCIF’s four competitive categories, alongside Drama, Horror and Narrative Music Video, and carries its own award. The festival welcomes animated shorts under 40 minutes in length. There is no premiere requirement: films that have already screened at other festivals or been released online are fully eligible.

Why Tokyo? Japan is one of the most animation-literate audiences in the world, and one where watching subtitled films is simply the norm. Yet the international animation that reaches Japanese screens is overwhelmingly commercial, and independent animated shorts from abroad rarely get the chance to meet an audience here. TCIF was founded in the hope of opening even a small door there — a place where a good film is recognized simply as a good film, regardless of language, nationality or career stage.

For animators — the essentials:

• Category: Best Animated Short
• Length: under 40 minutes
• No premiere requirement
• Non-English films need English subtitles
• Multiple entries and multiple categories allowed
• Deadline: October 31, 2026, 23:59 JST
• Submit via FilmFreeway: https://filmfreeway.com/cinemasters (fees listed there)
• Full guidelines: https://cinemasters.jp/entry

Japanese audiences probably know animation better than anyone, and yet almost none of the independent animated shorts being made around the world ever screen here. We started Tokyo CINEMASTERS so that an animated short made somewhere in the world — by one person working alone, a small team, or an established studio — can be seen on a big screen in Japan, by an audience that genuinely loves the form. We don’t ask for premieres — we just want to see the work.

Teppei Nakamura, Festival Director

Short Film Bank

Separately from the festival, TCIF also runs the Short Film Bank, an IMDb-style searchable database for short films. Animators can list their work there for free, past films included, with credits and synopsis, searchable by director, genre and country: https://cinemasters.jp/films

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