Les Sommets du Cinéma d’Animation will return to the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal, Quebec from May 11-16, presenting a celebration of animation in all its forms. Designed for industry professional, artists, students and the public, the program of the 24th edition will feature over 140 films (including some 50 premieres), dozens of filmmakers and special guests in attendance, professional networking events, the must-see Pitch Sessions and a plethora of free activities, including outdoor screenings every night of the festival.

The Sommets du cinéma d’animation will present 60 films in the official competition. This year, the jury tasked with awarding the prizes is composed of Loïc Darses, filmmaker; Andrea Dorfman, filmmaker;  Randall Finnerty, visual artist; Micheline Lanctôt, filmmaker and actress; and Isabelle Vanini, Executive Director of the French Association of Animated Film.

The Pitch Sessions will take place on Thursday, May 14 at 11 a.m. This year, the jury will include producer Marc Bertrand, Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne, co-president of h264, and filmmaker Rachel Samson. The event is presented in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, La Caisse Desjardins de la Culture, Royal Photo, h264 and Studio Unagi.

The Young Jury, composed of four young film enthusiasts, will also be back to select the winners of three special awards as part of the 2025 Best of Annecy Kids program, which will be presented on Saturday, May 16, at 10:30 a.m.

All the 2026 Award-winning films will be announced at the Sommets Awards Ceremony on Saturday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m.

SkeletonSkeleton (poster character designs by Emily Larrabee)

The WIP section will feature three work-in-progress projects: on Tuesday, May 12, Skeleton by independent filmmaker Jonathan Meret at 1:00 p.m., followed by Roche Qui Ricoche by Louis Bodart, produced by Béatrice Leclerc of Embuscade Films, at 2:30 p.m. Then, on Wednesday, May 13, at 2 p.m., Brigitte Archambault and Eva Cvijanović will present Le Projet Shiatsung (The Shiatsung Project, also selected for Annecy’s WIP sidebar), alongside producer Félix Dufour-Laperrière of Embuscade Films and producers Christine Noël and Jelena Popović of the NFB.

In addition to its Canadian Competition and Wide Angle programs, as well as the must-see Best of Annecy screenings, the Sommets will feature several special screenings. The festival kicks off with the Opening Night Film, The Square by Korean director Kim Bo-sol (winner of the Contrechamp Jury Award at Annecy International Animation Film Festival as well as the Feature Animation Grand Prize and Governor of Tokyo Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival), making its Canadian premiere.

The SquareThe Square

Curated and presented by filmmaker Laurence Thérien, The Royal College of Art: Double-Edged Humour will feature a selection of graduation films from the Royal College of Art in London on Tuesday, May 12 at 5 p.m. On Thursday, May 14, Isabelle Vanini, General Delegate of the French Association of Animated Film, will present The Best of Rennes, a selection of award-winning films and audience favorites from the National Animated Film Festival. The program is presented in collaboration with the Quebec Delegation in Paris.

On Wednesday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m., the Sommets will present a visual and musical performance featuring Anne-Marie Bouchard (16mm), David B. Ricard (digital video) and musicians David Nadeau-Bernatchez, Noémie Beaulieu, Claudia Gagné and Lyne Goulet.

Arco [c/o Neon]Arco [c/o Neon]

A new restoration of the satirical film District! by Hungarian director Áron Gauder, winner of the Crystal for a Feature Film at Annecy in 2005, is also on the program, on Thursday, May 14 at 8:30 p.m. The following day, at 5:30 p.m., the now-classic relaxed screening — suitable for children, neuroatypical individuals, and families with infants — will take place. Les Sommets will present Ugo Bienvenu’s hit film Arco in an inclusive environment with dimmed lights and moderate volume.

Finally, on Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m., in collaboration with the Swiss Consulate General in Montreal and Pro Helvetia — Swiss Arts Council, the festival will present Marcel Barelli’s feature film Mary Anning, followed by a drawing workshop with Marjolaine Perreten, the film’s art director. At 4 p.m., Studio Cinesite will invite the audience to go behind the scenes of the brand-new film Animal Farm, Andy Serkis’s adaptation of George Orwell’s novel, followed by a screening. Then, the Quebec premiere of Nimuendajú by Tania Anaya will follow at 7 p.m. The film tells the story of Curt “Nimuendajú” Unckel, a scientist who lived with Brazil’s Indigenous peoples for 40 years.

Mary AnningMary Anning

 

 

Canadian Competition Films:

3×2³ by Justin Lemay (Concordia Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema)
Accusé de réception by Julien Grandmont (Université Laval)
Action Bog by Winston Hacking (Rubber Cement Films)
Au Lac Patate by Marianne Lavergne (Docteur Miouzik)
Avec pas d’casque – Cardinal by Joël Vaudreuil
Averse by Lucien Houde (Cégep du Vieux Montréal)
Barber for the Queen – My Hang Up by Romy Côté
A Better Day by Scott Cowan
Bisou sauvage by Bahij Jaroudi (NFB)
Blessed by Birute Sodeikaite

Bread Will Walk [NFB]

Bread Will Walk by Alex Boya (NFB)
Cabbage Daddy by Grace An
Ce qu’on laisse derrière by Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hamel (Sémaphore Films)
Comment se rendre au sommet? by Annabel Gilbert
Dolly Baby – Rhythm & Flesh by Bouchera Tahraoui (NAD UQAC)
L’épi by Maya Orhan
Épineuse ascension by Éloïse Lavoie (Université du Québec à Montréal)
Flamboyant by Jollan Voivin (UQAM)
Furget Me Not by Marie Poirier, Caroline Buzot, Charles Mongeau, Christian Ange Morel Zebou, Cynthia Desgagne, Gabriel Saumur, Maria Alejandra Rodriguez (ESMA Montréal)
Fuck l’Herbe á Puce la Police et Tout le Reste by Fabiano Fabiani

Good Luck to You AllGood Luck to You All

Le géant sous la montagne by Évelyne Loignon-Lapointe (Concordia University)
Des gens vivent ici by Gabrielle Côté
Ghosts of a Modernist Montreal by A. John Yates (Concordia University Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema)
Glacier by Florence Charbonneau (Concordia University Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema)
Good Luck to You All by Cordell Barker (NFB)
Green by Peter De Souza-Samanek
Hexapod by Axel Kinnear
How to Triumph Like a Girl 
I Chose This by Ximena Espinosa Treviño (Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema)
Icare by Chloé Yoshino Lemay

Luz DiablaLuz Diabla

Je m’appelle Daniel by Daniel Léger (NFB)
La légende des Fêtes by Quentin Fachon, François Hogue (SHED)
LouiMax Dreams of Being an Adult by Eric Hogan, Tara Hungerford (Imagine Create Media)
Lullaby for a Deathdream by Charlie Galea McClure (Concordia University)
Luz Diabla by Gervasio Canda, Patricio Plaza, Paula Boffo (Lakeside Animation, Ojo Raro)
Matrescence by Elizabeth Laferrière (NFB)
Much Like Us by Jenna Marks, Alan Syliboy
Music in the Pocket by Veronika Kostyuk (Jet Martlet)
Une naissance by Alice Blanchet-D. (La Bande Vidéo)
Never Be Afraid by Keith Del Principe

Une Nuit DeboutUne Nuit Debout

Une nuit debout by Julie-Ann Déry (Concordia Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema)
Oh, Casselman! (Ouverture de Vaches, the Musical) by Dominic Asselin
L’oiseau sur la branche by Lukas Conway
Outside the Milky Way by Jasmine Carpentier (Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema)
Paradaïz by Matea Radic (NFB)
Plus by Renaud Hallée (Possible Metrics)
Qui on croit et pourquoi? L’injustice testimoniale by Martine Frossard

Secret HandshakesSecret Handshakes

Raconte-moi ton prénom by Cantiane Breton (SPIRA)
Reconstituée by Océane Bessim-Gagné
Roly & Poly by Béatrice Ferland D’Addetta (Cégep du Vieux Montréal)
Rudy Boyle’s Spore-nographic Journey by Mitchell Green (NSCAD)
Secret Handshakes by Jenna Marks
The Skeleton Crew by Lucas Holling
Still Moving by Rui Tin Ji

We're Kinda DifferentWe’re Kinda Different

Stride & Shine! by Xinyi Tian (OCAD University)
La tête en champ de bataille by Anaë Bilodeau, Louis-Pierre Cossette (FIZ Studio)
Tortoise by Mawrgan Shaw
Ultra forte by Catherine Lepage (NFB)
Unskippable by Sarah Dusseault-Daoust (ArtPupp3t)
Vera by John Harbour
Violet After the Storm by Bekky O’Neill
We’re Kinda Different by Ben Meinhardt
When the Moon Sings by Jesu Medina
Yee-Ha! by Charlie Ben Jazia, Maximilien Delmas, Clémence Lépine, Ana Ruíz Sánchez, Victoria Salvanès (RUbika)

 

 

Robot DreamsRobot Dreams

Starting Tuesday, May 12, the Cinémathèque Café-Bar terrace will welcome festivalgoers for free screenings every evening at 9 p.m. It will also be the perfect opportunity to try the official beer of the 2026 Sommets, brewed by Boswell. On the program: Scarlet by Mamoru Hosoda, a selection of student short films to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Cégep du Vieux Montréal’s animation film programs, the now classic “Bring Your Dog!” featuring Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, a program of films by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, with the filmmakers in attendance, and, for the final night, the always festive Sommets’ Karaoke, hosted by Jad Orphée Chami!

Meetings at the Sommets:

Tuesday, May 12, 10:30 a.m. — The public is invited to meet Isabelle Vanini, Executive Director of the French Association of Animated Film (AFCA), while enjoying a morning coffee. This event is made possible thanks to the support of the Quebec Delegation in Paris.

Wednesday, May 13, 4:00 p.m. — The Sommets and the NFB are hosting a roundtable to discuss the documentary approach in animation with the second cohort of the NFB’s Alambic program.

Thursday, May 14, 2:30 p.m. —Ted Ty, a highly experienced animator at DNEG Animation, returns this year to lead a master class on character performance in a feature-length animated film.

Friday, May 15, 3:00 p.m. — Artistic director Brigitte Henry (The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Higglety Pigglety Pop! or Life Must Have More to Offer) will discuss her prolific career and her masterful work in animated film.

Friday, May 15, 5:00 p.m. —A chance to meet Justin Lemay and Laurence Thérien, who will present the projects they developed during their residency at the Cinémathèque. This residency is made possible thanks to the support of patrons Jean-Philippe Fauteux and Marthe Cousineau.

Saturday, May 16, 3 p.m. —One year after receiving the Guy-L.-Coté Grand Prize for Hairy Legs, Nova Scotia filmmaker Andrea Dorfman opens the doors to her colorful world during a master class. This event is presented in collaboration with the NFB.

 

Visit sommetsanimation.com to see the full program and to purchase the full-access Passport ($65 CAD).