The ninth edition of Animation Is Film will roll out its official schedule for October 16-19, anchoring the festivities at the iconic TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. Organizers promise a packed weekend that blends fresh premieres, competition screenings, and industry showcases, positioning the event as a key post-Annecy platform for both emerging talent and established creators.
Highlights of the 2026 festival program
Among the announced titles are Leah Nelson’s emotionally charged Tangles Louis Clichy’s visually striking Iron Boy and the collaborative piece The Violinist by Ervin Han and Raúl García. The competition slate also features Masanao Kawajiri’s Cherry and Virgin Shingo Natsume’s Ghost – End of Night and the quirky Jim Queen from Nicolas Athané and Marco Nguyen. A bold entry titled O filho da Puta (Son of a Bitch) by Otto Guerra, Érica Maradona, Tânia Anaya and Sávio Leite joins the race for the top prize.
World-first theatrical debut of a new animated series
For the first time in the festival’s history, the opening night will feature a world premiere of a television series on the big screen. Dana Terrace’s Knights of Guinevere will screen its first two episodes, following the online debut of Episode 1.02. Terrace, celebrated for creating one of the decade’s most beloved series, returns to showrun the ambitious fantasy adventure, giving festival-goers a rare glimpse of a series before its broadcast launch.
Festival director Matt Kaszanek expressed his enthusiasm, noting that the inclusion of Knights of Guinevere underscores the event’s commitment to “bold, creative and free” animation. The presentation is expected to draw both fans of the creator’s earlier work and newcomers curious about the series’ cinematic potential.
Spotlight on 2026’s most notable animated films
Beyond the festival lineup, 2026 has already delivered a remarkable array of animated features that push the medium’s boundaries. Iron Boy a hand-painted coming-of-age story set in rural France, blends naturalistic landscapes with expressive Chinese-ink line work to portray the struggle of an eleven-year-old boy coping with scoliosis and a family in crisis. Tangles adapts Sarah Leavitt’s graphic novel into a monochrome-rich meditation on Alzheimer’s, featuring a voice cast led by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and using bursts of color to highlight memory flashbacks.
Other standouts include Baku Kinoshita’s debut feature The Last Blossom an anime-styled drama that follows an aging mobster who converses with a mystical plant, and the meta-comedy Coyote vs. Acme a live-action/cartoon hybrid that revels in treating animated characters as ordinary inhabitants of its world. Both titles have garnered attention for their inventive storytelling and visual flair, reinforcing the festival’s decision to place experimental works at the forefront of its program.
In addition to the screenings, attendees can expect studio showcases such as a sneak peek at Walt Disney Animation’s upcoming Hexed a theatrical cut of Paramount’s Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender and a look at Matt Braly’s project Clara and the Below. The mix of retrospectives, works-in-progress, and filmmaker talks promises a comprehensive view of contemporary animation trends.
Tickets are currently on sale via the official festival website, and organizers encourage early purchase to secure seats for the highly anticipated premieres and special events.
