Manchester Animation Festival Bans Films Made With GenAI, Names ‘In Waves’ Best Feature

Manchester Animation Festival will stop accepting films made with generative AI starting with its 2027 edition. The U.K. festival announced the change Friday as it revealed the winners of its 2026 competition, posted below.

Festival director Steve Henderson explained the decision in a release, saying:

After a whirlwind week celebrating the international animation community with screenings, panels, masterclasses and more, our awards are a wonderful way to reflect on the skills and talent we champion at MAF. As we open our call for entries for MAF 2027 we wanted to stand by the creatives that make animation the incredible, human artform that it is. Our new Gen AI policy puts artists first and continues our mission to showcase the very best animation has to offer making it clear for audiences and artists where MAF stands on Gen AI.

At Thursday’s awards ceremony, Phuong Mai Nguyen’s In Waves, Netflix’s first major pickup at this year’s Cannes, took the top feature prize, with a special mention going to Kōhei Kadowaki’s anime standout We Are Aliens. Mamuka Tkeshelashvili’s When the Sea Was Calm won the Oscar-qualifying short film award, while Leto Meade and Jonathan Rockefeller’s A Little Death was named best British short. Antonin Niclass’ Into the Forest took the audience award and earned a special mention in the children’s competition.

The five-day festival drew nearly 12,000 admissions, its highest total to date. Manchester Animation Festival returns November 14–18, 2027.

2026 Manchester Animation Festival Winners

Feature Film

• Winner — In Waves, Phuong Mai Nguyen (Belgium, France, U.S.)
• Special Mention — We Are Aliens, Kōhei Kadowaki (Japan, France)

Short Film

• Winner — When the Sea Was Calm, Mamuka Tkeshelashvili (Georgia)
• Special Mention — Hag, Anna Ginsburg (U.K.)

British Short Film

• Winner — A Little Death, Leto Meade and Jonathan Rockefeller (U.K., U.S.)
• Special Mention — Daughters of the Late Colonel, Elizabeth Hobbs (U.K., Germany)

Student Film

• Winner — To Kill a Velofahrer, Helmi Korhonen, Ines Nungässer, Livio Frauendorf, and Marvin Büeler (Switzerland)
• Special Mention — Land of No Man, Muling Tzai and Olivia Lin (U.S., Taiwan)

Immersive Film

• Winner — Mirage, Naima Karim (Bangladesh, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia)

Commissioned Film

• Winner — Kikkoman: Unleash Legendary, Mariano Fernández Russo (U.S.)
• Special Mention — Should Have Gone to Specsavers: Garbologist, Sammy Lewis (U.K.)

Children’s Shorts

• Winner — Singularity, Andy Goralczyk (Netherlands)
• Special Mention — Grounded, Chris Cullus (New Zealand)
• Special Mention — Into the Forest, Antonin Niclass (Switzerland)

Audience Award

• Winner — Into the Forest, Antonin Niclass (Switzerland)

Industry Excellence Awards

• Scriptwriting — Joe Wells, Pablo Next Level (BBC, RTÉ, Crayola Studios)
• Storyboarding — Bryony James, Pablo Next Level (BBC, RTÉ, Crayola Studios)
• Character Animation — Sam Turner, Do I Look Like I Care? (Genentech)
• Character Design — Kostas Firinidis, How Smart Are Crows? (TED-Ed)

MAFter Dark Selections

• Andrew Ganvickton, Joseph Pelling (U.K.)
• Wuthering Hearts, Laura Jayne Hodkin (U.K.)
• Gone Wrong, Anne-Linh Jérôme, Ambre Butel, Roman Saunier, Maxime Arnould, Juliette Houël, Adrian Villeda, Alisson Colombe, and Ylan Dinguidar (France)