‘Living Large’ And ‘Dog Alone’ Take Top Honors At 2026 Emile Awards

Kristina Dufková’s Living Large and Marta Reis Andrade’s Dog Alone won the top feature and short film prizes, respectively, at the fifth Emile Awards. Celebrating the year’s top European animation achievements, the 2026 ceremony took place on October 28 in Krakow, Poland, during the 33rd Etiuda&Anima International Film Festival.

It’s safe to say this year’s feature winner was a real shock, given the category’s competitive field. The Czech-Slovak-French co-production beat out the Oscar-nominated, Annecy Cristal-winning Arco; the Oscar-nominated, Annecy Audience Award-winning Little Amélie; former Oscar-nominated director Claude Barras’s latest, Savages; and the latest from legendary French director Jean-François Laguionie, A Boat in the Garden. That’s some pretty heady company.

Living Large tells the story of Ben, a music-loving 12-year-old whose confidence is shaken by bullying about his weight. Adapted from Mikaël Ollivier’s novel, the film combines stop-motion puppets with hand-drawn passages that explore its protagonist’s inner life. As Dufková explained in our interview, she discovered the book while reading with her daughter and saw an opportunity to address an age group too rarely served by animated features. The film previously won Annecy’s Contrechamp Jury Award.

Dog Alone, produced by Portugal’s BAP Animation Studio and France’s Ikki Films, adds its Emile to a run that includes the Quirino Award for best short. Drawing on Andrade’s own experiences, it connects the loneliness of an abandoned dog, her widowed grandfather, and a young woman returning from London. Recorded family voices anchor translucent drawings and painted imagery, continuing BAP’s distinctive exploration of the space between documentary and poetic invention.

Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco was the evening’s only multiple winner, taking the feature prizes for backgrounds, character design, and soundtrack. Other winners included Savages for feature animation and On Weary Wings Go By for experimental short.

2026 Emile Awards

FEATURE FILMS

Best of the Best
Living Large
Director: Kristina Dufková
Czech Republic, Slovakia, France

Best Writing
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Writers: Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Eddine Noël, and Aude Py
Directors: Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han
France

Best Backgrounds and Character Design
Arco
Design: Ugo Bienvenu and Alexander Vanderplank
Director: Ugo Bienvenu
France

Best Soundtrack
Arco
Music: Arnaud Toulon; sound design: Nicolas Becker
Director: Ugo Bienvenu
France

Best Animation
Savages
Animation: Timothée Crabbé, Marcos Valin, and Antony Elworthy
Director: Claude Barras
Switzerland, France, Belgium

SHORT FILMS

Best of the Best
Dog Alone
Director: Marta Reis Andrade
Portugal, France

Best Backgrounds and Characters
Mother’s Child
Design: Naomi Noir, Lenke Duyvendak, Elisa Draeger, and Lilien Galgóczi
Director: Naomi Noir
Netherlands

Best Sound Design
Earth Coal
Sound design: Yan Volsy and Pierre Caillet
Director: Bastien Dupriez
France

Best Animation
Weeds
Director and animator: Pola Kazak
Czech Republic

Best Experimental Short Film
On Weary Wings Go By, Director: Anu Laura Tuttelberg
Estonia, Lithuania