Animation Is Film Festival is returning for its eighth edition next month and this year is a doozy.
Taking place October 17–19 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, with a special “festival preview” of Netflix’s “The Twits” being held on Monday, October 13 at the Egyptian Theatre across the street, this year’s festival includes the West Coast premiere of the highly anticipated “Scarlet” from Oscar-nominated director Maoru Hosoda, along with a Centerpiece screening of Ugo Bienvenu “Arco,” from NEON. The closing night film is the United States premiere of the enchanting “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” o-directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, distributed by GKIDS.
Additionally, there are panels dedicated to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ highly anticipated “Zootopia 2,” an anniversary screening of LAIKA’s “ParaNorman” (with the new short “The Thrifting” attached) and a panel on Netflix’s smash sensation “KPop Demon Hunters.”
The festival’s mission is “to champion animation as a cinematic art form, curating critically acclaimed international features and shorts that carry both recognition and impact. This year’s program presents new animated works from Asia, Europe, South America, North America, and Australia, with both juried and audience prizes,” according to the official release.
“It’s with enormous pride that AIF returns in its role as the first opportunity for Los Angeles to experience these essential films on their journey to end-of-year awards and Best-of lists,” says Matt Kaszanek, Director of Animation Is Film, said in an official statement. “This carefully curated lineup — featuring new works from animation legends alongside feature film debuts — is a celebration of the medium. It’s wonderful to be home.”
“As a founding partner, we’re proud to see AIF thrive as a landmark event for animation in Los Angeles. Each year, many of the films discovered and celebrated in Annecy find a new audience, confirming the strong bond between our two festivals. Together, we continue to champion animation as an art form that is daring, universal, and endlessly inspiring,” said Mickael Marin, CEO of CITIA — Annecy International Animation Film Festival, in an official statement.
Returning as Animation Is Film sponsors and partners for 2025 are: ASIFA-Hollywood, Crunchyroll, Dreamworks Animation, ELMA, Fathom Events, Illumination, LAIKA, Locksmith Animation, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Paramount Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, Shout! Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, UniFrance, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.
Below is the complete lineup.
COMPETITION SECTION
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (dir. Ken’ichiro Akimoto / Japan / West Coast Premiere) Trapped in a relentless time loop during an alien plant invasion, Rita fights, falls, and fights again — until she discovers Keiji, another soul caught in the same cycle. A GKIDS release.
ARCO (dir. Ugo Bienvenu / France-United States / Los Angeles Premiere) Annecy Cristal Award winner. What if rainbows were time travelers? On his first journey through time, 10-year-old Arco crashes from the distant past into the near future, where his new friend Iris helps him find his way back home. A NEON release. Director Ugo Bienvenu in attendance.
CHAO (dir. Yasuhiro Aoki / Japan / USA Premiere)
Annecy Special Jury Prize winner. In a world of humans and merpeople, Princess Chao’s engagement to a human engineer sparks a romance that defies both worlds. A GKIDS release. Character Designer Hirokaru Kojima in attendance.
DECORADO (dir. Alberto Vázquez / Spain / West Coast Premiere)
Spanish animation master Alberto Vázquez (Birdboy, Unicorn Wars) returns with a vivid reimagining of his 2016 short, bringing iconic characters to life in a bold, darkly imaginative world.
I AM FRANKELDA (dirs. Arturo & Roy Ambriz / Mexico / USA Premiere)
Frankelda, a fearless 19th-century writer, journeys into her own imagination to confront the monsters she’s created — guided by a tormented prince and racing against time to restore balance. Directors Roy & Arturo Ambriz in attendance.
LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS (dirs. Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese / Australia / Los Angeles Premiere)
A sheltered princess from Clitopolis blasts off into queer-space to rescue her ex-girlfriend from the tyrannical Straight White Maliens, navigating cosmic dangers and epic adventure.
LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN (dirs. Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han / Belgium-France / USA Premiere)
Annecy Audience Award winner. In post-war Japan, young Amélie navigates life between cultures with emerald-eyed wonder, guided by her beloved Nishio-san as she begins to grasp love, loss, and belonging. A GKIDS release. Directors Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han in attendance.
NOBODY (dir. Shui Yu / China / US Premiere)
China’s highest-grossing 2D animated film. A little pig demon leaves Langlang Mountain, teaming with toad, weasel, and gorilla demons for an epic journey westward.
SCARLET (dir. Mamoru Hosoda / Japan / West Coast Premiere)
Academy Award®-nominated Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai) delivers a thrilling, time-bending adventure — Scarlet, a medieval sword-wielding princess, confronts her father’s killer while discovering a future beyond vengeance. A Sony Pictures Classics release. Director Mamoru Hosoda in attendance.
A STORY ABOUT FIRE (dir. Wenyu Li / China / West Coast Premiere)
A monkey raised by humans braves a sacred mountain in search of fire. Through peril and perseverance, he transforms into something extraordinary.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS & STUDIO EVENTS
Special Screening: CHAINSAW MAN – THE MOVIE: REZE ARC (dir. Tatsuya Yoshihara / Japan / West Coast Premiere)
Chainsaw Man slashes onto the big screen for its West Coast debut, delivering a first look at the thrilling continuation of the hit anime. After being killed by the yakuza, Denji fuses with his chainsaw-powered devil-dog, Pochita, becoming an unstoppable force. But when the mysterious Reze enters the fray, he faces his deadliest — and most emotional — battle yet. (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Special 13th Anniversary Screening: PARANORMAN paired with short film PARANORMAN: THE THRIFTING
A celebration of LAIKA’s much-loved PARANORMAN in the first outing of a newly remastered print, paired with the World Premiere of the new short PARANORMAN:THE THRIFTING. Together, they represent two decades of inventive storytelling and the studio’s signature, playful mastery of the craft of animation. Director Chris Butler and voice actor Anna Kendrick in attendance. (LAIKA)
Filmmaker Panel: KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
An up-close conversation with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, producer Michelle Wong, production designer Helen Chen and head of character animation Josh Beveridge, exploring the creative spark and bold choices that brought one of the year’s most ambitious, and talked-about, animated undertakings to life. (Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation)
Work-in-Progress Panel: ZOOTOPIA 2
A work-in-progress presentation led by Carrie Liao, Head of Story, who takes us behind the scenes into the development, storyboarding, and animation techniques of Disney’s highly anticipated 64th feature. (Walt Disney Animation)
Work-in-Progress Panel: PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE I DON’T WANT TO BE A MAGICAL GIRL
A pilot preview, with creator Kiana Khansmith, voice actors Anairis Quiñones and Christine Marie Cabanos, and editor Emily Rifkin, exploring their creative breakthroughs, the challenges of crafting a pilot, and realizing bold ideas through the production pipeline.
Pre-Festival Preview: THE TWITS (dir. Phil Johnston / USA)
An early look at THE TWITS, where two orphans join a family of enchanted animals to take on the nefarious Mr. and Mrs. Twit. Writer-Director-Producer Phil Johnston will attend in person to discuss the film’s creation and his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic novel. (Netflix)
SHORTS PRESENTATIONS
Animation Is Film is once again proud to shine a spotlight on some of the year’s most extraordinary animated short films in four separate Short Film presentations.
SHORTS PROGRAM 1
ÉIRU (Ireland / Giovanna Ferrari)
Éiru, the youngest child of a powerful Iron Age Irish clan, seizes a chance to prove herself when her village faces a mysterious crisis, embarking on a perilous adventure beneath the earth. From Cartoon Saloon.
FOREVERGREEN (USA / Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears)
An orphaned bear cub finds a home with a fatherly evergreen tree, discovering comfort in its branches, before his curiosity — and desire for snacks — leads him into danger.
CARDBOARD (United Kingdom / J.P. Vine)
Worried he’s let his piglets down, a single dad moves them into a trailer park. When his kids turn a box into an intergalactic adventure, he must decide — stay stuck in the past, or join in. From Locksmith Animation in association with DNEG Animation and Ritzy Animation.
VERSA (USA / Malcoln Pierce)
Poignant and visually captivating, a young couple navigate the highs and lows of love, loss, and joy, swept along in an ethereal cosmic dance of life. From Walt Disney Animation.
SNOW BEAR (USA / Aaron Blaise)
Hand-drawn over many years and radiating all the delicacy of classic animation, a lonely polar bear, craving connection, brings a companion to life in his frozen world.
SHORTS PROGRAM 2
AUTOKAR (Poland, Belgium / Sylwia Szkiłądź)
In the 1990s, 8-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium, seeing migration through a child’s eyes, as a journey of memory, imagination, and discovery unfolds on a fantastical bus ride.
COMO SI LA TIERRA SE LAS HUBIERA TRAGADO (Mexico, France / Natalia Leon) A young woman returns to her hometown in Mexico, seeking to reconnect with her past, while the systemic darkness she witnessed as a child endures, stirring memories she must confront and reconcile
GIGI (France / Cynthia Calvi)
From a tormented little mermaid to the blossoming woman she is today, Gigi recounts her journey of transition with humor and sensitivity, exploring her path toward selfhood and belonging.
THE NIGHT BOOTS (France / Pierre-Luc Granjon)
Winner of the Annecy Festival’s Cristal for Short Film. When Elliot meets an inquisitive little creature in the woods, solitude gives way to both wander and wonder. Between shadows and light, the pair chart a quiet night of magical discovery.
PLAYING GOD (Italy, France / Matteo Burani)
A sculptor, obsessed with perfection, infuses life into a clay figure. Blinded by his pursuit, he can no longer see the beauty in his creations — even as they come alive.
RETIREMENT PLAN (Ireland / John Kelly)
In the throes of an overstimulated, energy-drained midlife, Ray fantasizes about all he hopes to do in retirement, once he finally has the ‘time.’
SHADOWS (France, Jordan / Rand Beiruty)
At an overcrowded airport, a 14-year-old runaway mother struggles against lurking shadows that threaten her, holding fast to the one dream that might finally set her free.
THE BEST OF ANNECY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WOMEN IN ANIMATION
A collection of extraordinary short films from Annecy, curated by Women In Animation (WIA)
AFTERGLOW (Hungary / Sophia Belleli, Lazarine Biaud, Joyanne Marquetant, Sarah Remane, Yann Tournois)
In this 2025 Annecy Ident, a group of young Hungarians wander from Budapest’s old city, uncovering its layers of history and beauty before arriving at the city’s iconic ruin bars and nightclubs.
HAIRY LEGS (Canada / Andrea Dorfman)
One question — “Why do I have to shave my legs?” — sets a 13-year-old on a journey of self-discovery, capturing the shift from carefree days to facing — and challenging — the expectations and stereotypes that shape girlhood.
OVARY ACTING (Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom / Ida Melum)
At her sister’s baby shower, a thirty-something woman is forced to confront motherhood… in perhaps the most unexpected — and literal — way possible.
SAFO (Brazil / Rosana Urbes)
Inspired by fragments of poems by Sappho (Lesbos, 600 BC) — the first known female author of the Western world — lyrical expressions entwine with the shifting interpretations of her figure across history.
SULAIMANI (France / Vinnie Ann Bose)
Two friends share a meal at an Indian restaurant in Paris, where the flavours stir buried emotions and unlock memories that slowly reveal why they left their homeland.
ZWERMEN ❊ MURMURATION (Belgium, The Netherlands / Janneke Swinkels, Tim Frijsinger) Trapped in a nursing home — a world of bingo, pills, dentures, and dementia — an elderly man longs for freedom beyond its walls, in a magical-realist fable of longing and escape.
STUDENT SHOWCASE
Celebrating the next generation of filmmakers, this Student Showcase presents short films from emerging artists, brought to you by educational partners at California Institute of the Arts, University of Southern California, California State University Long Beach, California State University Fullerton, and ArtCenter College of Design.
