The Ottawa Intl. Animation Festival has revealed the seven titles selected for its newly expanded feature competition this September. According to the organizers, the films offer “a snapshot of where feature animation is today—expansive in style, global in perspective, and increasingly driven by distinct, individual voices.”
The selected works will compete for the Grand Prize for Feature Animation, to be awarded by an all-Canadian jury comprising Alisi Telengut, Lillian Chan and Luc Chamberland.
The seven features selected for OIAF ’26 are:
Girlfriends of Father (dir. Xi Chen | China)
Magic Atlas (dir. Xun Sun | China, Singapore)
O Filho da Puta(Son of a Bitch) (dirs. Erica Maradona, Tania Anaya, Otto Guerra, Sávio Leite | Brazil)
Tangles (dir. Leah Nelson | Canada, United States)
The Orbit of Minor Satellites (dir. Christopher Sullivan | United States)
Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent (dir. Kenji Nakamura)
We Are Aliens (dir. Kohei Kadowaki | Japan)
“The strength of this year’s submissions is reflected in our expanded lineup of seven films,” said OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson. “Their diversity and depth—across techniques, perspectives and voices—show how much feature animation has evolved since we introduced the competition in 2002, while offering a glimpse of where it might be heading next. It feels especially fitting as OIAF celebrates 50 years of championing distinctive animated voices.”
The festival received a record 3,026 entries for its milestone edition. The Grand Prize winner for Feature Animation will be announced live by the jury at the OIAF Awards Ceremony on September 26 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
For more info, visit animationfestival.ca