‘Knights Of Guinevere,’ ‘Iron Boy,’ ‘Tangles,’ ‘Jim Queen’ Headline 2026 Animation Is Film Lineup

Animation Is Film (AIF), Annecy’s U.S.-based sister festival organized in partnership with GKIDS, has unveiled the full lineup for its ninth edition, set to run October 16–19 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood.

For the first time in the festival’s history, AIF will open with an animated series. The event will host the first theatrical presentation of the opening two episodes of Dana Terrace’s Knights of Guinevere. Terrace will attend the screening and participate in a conversation about the Glitch Productions theme park-set, sci-fi thriller.

Nine features will screen in competition, including Iron Boy, Louis Clichy’s coming-of-age film, which won the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at Cannes and three awards at Annecy; The Violinist, winner of this year’s Annecy Cristal; and Julián, Cartoon Saloon’s adaptation of Jessica Love’s picture book Julián Is a Mermaid.

The competition also includes the North American premiere of Ghost – End of Night, the first original feature from Sonny Boy director Shingo Natsume; Cannes selection Jim Queen, an adult comedy from French studio Bobbypills; Brazilian road movie O Filho da Puta (Son of a Bitch); and Tangles, Leah Nelson’s adaptation of Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir, featuring a voice cast that includes Abbi Jacobson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Beanie Feldstein, and Samira Wiley.

The program rounds out with two distinctive directorial features: Masanao Kawajiri’s formally playful romantic comedy Cherry and Virgin and Viva Carmen!, Sébastien Laudenbach’s reinterpretation of Bizet’s opera through the eyes of street children in 19th-century Seville. Laudenbach’s previous feature, Chicken for Linda!, won both AIF’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in 2023.

“We’re thrilled to kick off another lively, animated weekend of the year’s very best with a special theatrical presentation of Dana Terrace’s Knights of Guinevere,” said AIF director Matt Kaszanek. “Dana is the artist behind one of the most beloved animated series of this decade. So naturally, it is with otherworldly excitement that we embrace her return to showrunning with a big-screen presentation of this visionary series.”

Outside the competition, AIF will host a 25th-anniversary celebration of Cartoon Saloon, featuring a screening of Wolfwalkers and a conversation with studio founders Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey, and Paul Young. Other special screenings include a new HD remaster of Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 2000 cult classic Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, followed by a conversation with director Lauren Montgomery.

Works-in-progress and studio presentations include a behind-the-scenes preview of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming feature Hexed and a look at Clara and the Below, the independently created and funded project from Amphibia creator Matt Braly and his studio Fantasy Project.

Industry programming will include “Inside Animation,” presented in partnership with UTA. The panel will examine the state of the animation business, representation, emerging talent, and opportunities for new creative voices.

Short film programming will feature two AIF-curated competition blocks, Best of Annecy in partnership with Women in Animation, New Voices in Animation, and the festival’s annual Student Showcase.

2026 AIF Official Selection

Competition Section

• Cherry and Virgin, Masanao Kawajiri (Japan)
• Ghost – End of Night, Shingo Natsume (Japan)
• Iron Boy, Louis Clichy (France/Belgium)
• Jim Queen, Nicolas Athané and Marco Nguyen (France/Belgium)
• Julián, Louise Bagnall (Ireland/Luxembourg/Canada/Denmark)
• O Filho da Puta (Son of a Bitch), Otto Guerra, Érica Maradona, Tânia Anaya, and Sávio Leite (Brazil)
• Tangles, Leah Nelson (Canada/United States)
• The Violinist, Ervin Han and Raúl García (Singapore/Spain/Italy)
• Viva Carmen!, Sébastien Laudenbach (France/Luxembourg)

Short Films Program 1

• 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 2

• 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 and Alexandra Myotte (Canada)

Best of Annecy, in Partnership With Women in Animation

• 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, and 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, and Tracy Liu (United States)
• Buggie, Ellen Jung (United States)
• Hot Drop: Lil Gibbos, Arius Ziaee (United States)
• if(fy), Osiokeh Ikharo and 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)

Tickets are available through the Animation Is Film website.