Annecy Unveils Feature, Contrechamp, And Annecy Presents Lineups

Annecy has unveiled its 2026 feature film competition and non-competition lineups, and the festival boasts a predictably stacked roster of global titles spanning scales, styles, and sensibilities.

This year’s selections across the Official Competition, Contrechamp, and Annecy Presents underline a medium that is increasingly stylistically diverse and heavily reliant on cooperation, with numerous international co-productions shaped by shifting production realities.

That said, festival artistic director Marcel Jean says that rumors of a global animation crisis may be overstated. Speaking with Cartoon Brew ahead of the lineup announcement, he argued, “When you look at this lineup, you will say, ‘Crisis, what crisis?’ It looks very active and has a lot of very promising and different films.”

And while some of the films have been around in certain markets for a while now, much of the section will look new to festivalgoers. “Most of the films are quite new,” Jean said. “And an example of that is the fact that at least six of them will be screened in Cannes just weeks before.”

Official Feature Competition

The Official Competition continues to reflect Annecy’s core identity, with a lineup that leans heavily toward auteur-driven work while still spanning a wide range of tones and intended audiences. European production remains dominant, particularly from France, but the selection also highlights growing contributions from Asia and North America.

Jean noted the strength of the European scene in particular, describing the lineup as evidence of a thriving ecosystem despite broader industry concerns. At the same time, he emphasized that many of the filmmakers come from short-film backgrounds, pointing to a generational shift in how careers are developing.

“It looks like it’s the new way of doing things,” he said. “In the past, there were people who worked in shorts and others in features. Now you see a lot of short film directors arriving with a feature project.”

Several titles illustrate that evolution. Sébastien Laudenbach returns with Viva Carmen!, continuing a strong festival track record, while Alberto Vázquez’s Decorado, adapted from one of his much-loved shorts, arrives after a long-awaited completion following earlier delays.

Phuong Mai Nguyen’s In Waves, an adaptation of a well-known graphic novel, reflects another growing trend. “There is more and more adaptation,” Jean observed. “You build on something that already has a kind of fan base. It helps avoid important risks in production.”

The lineup also boasts two Chinese titles this year, a strong reminder of how quickly that country’s industry is evolving. Nobody and Tana showcase two sides of the same coin: one relies on the regular box-office favorite themes of tradition and mythology, while the other shifts toward contemporary narratives. “With a film like Tana, you can see contemporary China,” Jean said. “It’s very different from what we received ten years ago.” Nobody, conversely, is based on Journey to the West, one of the country’s most iconic works. Oh, and it’s the highest-grossing 2D film in Chinese history.

Below is a list of this year’s competition titles accompanied by commentary from the Annecy Festival’s artistic director, Marcel Jean, about why each film was selected:

Viva Carmen!, Sébastien Laudenbach (France)

An animated adaptation of the most French of Spanish stories, by Sébastien Laudenbach, a Festival regular who has already scooped several awards.

Iron Boy, Louis Clichy (France, Belgium)

Louis Clichy takes us into the French countryside and reminds us that Stéphanie of Monaco was once a singer. A story full of nuance, both in tone and aesthetics.

Decorado, Alberto Vázquez (Spain)

Alberto Vázquez, another regular at the Festival, is competing in the official feature film competition for the third time. This tale of a rebellious unemployed mouse has already won a Goya.

The Sunrise File, Rupert Wyatt, Émilie Phuong (France, Luxembourg)

The Sunrise File, recalls how Serge and Beate Klarsfeld tracked down and brought Klaus Barbie to justice.

In Waves, Phuong Mai Nguyen (France, Belgium)

An adaptation of A.J. Dungo’s acclaimed graphic novel, which tells the story of the author’s love affair with Kristen, a young surfer who died before her time.

Lucy Lost, Olivier Clert (France)

The entry in the official competition is an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, Listen to the Moon, which is set in southern England in the early 20th century, where a young girl taken in by a local family is haunted by strange visions. It is undoubtedly the most family-friendly film in the Annecy Festival 2026 official competition

Nobody, Shui Yu (China)

The first of the two Chinese films in the competition, Nobody, by Shui Yu, reaches us on the heels of winning a dozen awards and drawing huge crowds in its home country. We follow a curious quartet of animal-demons on their comical and sometimes moving adventures.

Tana, Ji Zhao, Ke Er Zhu (China)

The second Chinese film in the competition offers a welcome change from the glut of films drawing on local mythology. Instead, this is a more contemporary work, in which a young woman leaves Shanghai to be at her father’s bedside in Inner Mongolia. The bonds between parent and child, and a love of music, lie at the heart of this touching film, whose credits feature several of the creative minds behind The White Snake, in 2018.

Tangles, Leah Nelson (Canada, USA)

Directed by Canadian Leah Nelson, Tangles, is a contemporary story in which a young woman is forced to move back in with her parents to care for her mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. One of the selection’s stand-out picks!

The Violonist, Ervin Han, Raúl García (Singapore, Spain, Italy)

A co-production between Singapore, Spain and Italy, The Violonist by Ervin Han and Raoul García is a classic-style war epic in the classical, both epic and melodramatic, driven by a powerful screenplay and spectacular direction.

We Are Aliens, Kohei Kadowaki (Japan, France)

Lastly, We Are Aliens, by Kohei Kadowaki, a Franco-Japanese co-production revolving around the reunion, after 30 years, of two childhood friends.

Contrechamp

Originally conceived as a space for more experimental and independent work, the Contrechamp section has evolved significantly in recent years. According to Jean, the distinction between the two competitions has become less about quality and more about tone, structure, and audience.

“In the first years, diversity was more important than quality,” he explained of the selection process. “Now there is such an evolution in the quality of animation and more personal aesthetics that are distributed in commercial theatres.”

That shift is evident in this year’s lineup, which includes a notable concentration of Japanese productions alongside films from Latin America and Europe. The section continues to serve as a platform for unconventional storytelling, but with an increasingly polished and accessible (and even commercial) edge.

Jean pointed to the broader industry context as a factor in this evolution. As distribution channels expand and audiences become more receptive to nontraditional work, films that might once have been considered niche are now finding wider reach.

“The evolution will continue,” he said confidently.

As above, here are this year’s Contrechamp picks, with comments from Jean:

58th, Carl Joseph Papa (Philippines)

The new film by Filipino Director Carl Joseph Papa, his third time selected at Annecy, is a feature-length documentary which recounts the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

A New Dawn, Yoshitoshi Shinomiya (Japan, France)

A Franco-Japanese co-production that boasts a sterling reputation, following its appearance in the official competition in Berlin.

Blaise, Dimitri Planchon, Jean-Paul Guigue (France)

Blaise, by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue, takes the characters we got to know in the series broadcast on ARTE in 2016 to a whole new level. Blaise is now 16 and is still just as introverted as ever.

O filho da puta, Érica Maradona, Otto Guerra, Tania Anaya, Sávio Leite (Brazil)

From Brazil comes O filho da puta (I’ll let you figure out the translation), co-directed by Erica Maradona, Otto Guerra, Tanya Anaya and Savio Leite. We meet Ismael, whose mother runs a brothel, as he sets off in search of his father and the ocean.

Muyi, Julien Chheng (France)

Julien Chheng’s French film, produced by Studio La Cachette, whisks us away to China, where the young Mu Yi causes havoc by inviting a travelling theatre troupe to her village.

Pelelui: Guernica of Paradise, Goro Kuji (Japan)

Goro Kuji’s film transports us to Micronesia in 1944, where Tamaru is assigned to write fictitious heroic accounts to be sent to the families of soldiers killed in action. A beautiful film, whose deceptive visual style might lead you to believe it is a story intended for children, yet one that actually tackles the cruelty and violence of a neglected episode of the Pacific War.

The Orbit of Minor Satellites, Christopher Sullivan (Japan)

The Orbit of Minor Satellites by American Chris Sullivan, who came in 2013 with Consuming Spirits, is an unconventional film that weaves together live-action shots and animation to explore the relationship between a patient and his psychiatrist. The film was co-produced with the Japanese company New Deer.

Spacetime Chronicles, Stefano Bertelli (Italy)

This film, directed by Stefano Bertelli, comes to us from Italy; its surrealist style and DIY approach bring to mind Michel Gondry. A genuine technical masterpiece.

The Obsessed, Wataru Takahashi (Japan)

Tsoritsukare Otoko (The Obsessed), by Japaense Wataru Takahashi, is a spirited, colourful, light-hearted, musical and lyrical romantic tale – an original film that stands out amid the Japanese film industry.

Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope, Beñat Beitia, Elio Quiroga (Spain, Chile, Argentina)

An international co-production involving Spain, Chile and Argentina, Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope by Benat Beitia and Elio Ouiroga is set during the Spanish Civil War in 1939, as Franco’s forces capture Barcelona. Some manage to embark on
the Winnipeg, a cargo ship chartered by Pablo Neruda, bound for Valparaíso. It is the ship of hope…

Welcome to Dolly’s House, Seven YCH, Rady Fu, Tree Muta (Taiwan)

And to round off this section, the opening film, Welcome to Dolly’s House, from Taiwan, is directed by Seven Ych, Rady Fu and Tree MutaIt follows YouTuber Princess Maria who, following a scandalous post, finds herself drawn into a haunted mansion and the secrets of her own identity. Aesthetically very refined, and it masterfully plays on the conventions of fantasy and since I saw the first, I look forward to Welcome to Dolly’s House 2.

Annecy Presents

Now in its third year, Annecy Presents continues to carve out a space for more broadly appealing, wide audience films. While not a formal competition, the section does now include an audience award and has quickly become an important part of the festival’s overall structure.

Jean described the program as intentionally broad in appeal. “It’s a section more oriented to the audience, especially the family audience and fans of Japanese anime.”

This year’s lineup balances established studio titles with those from emerging voices, reflecting the same global reach seen in the competition sections but with a more accessible tone.

The presence of studios like Cartoon Saloon and Chile’s first-ever Oscar winners, Punk Robot, reinforces Annecy Presents as a bridge between independent artistry and mainstream storytelling.

“It’s designed to offer films with broad appeal,” Jean said, pointing to the importance of engaging audiences beyond industry professionals.

• Yugly, Yanis Belaid, Jérémie Degruson (Belgium)
• Paris ni Saku Étoile (Samurai Ballerina), Gorō Taniguchi (Japan)
• Chimney Town: Frozen in Time (Japan)
• The Ribbon Hero, Yuki Igarashi (Japan)
• The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, Tomohiko Ito (Japan)
• Julián, Louise Bagnall (Ireland)
• Brave Cat, Gabriel Osorio (Chile)
• Dante, Linda Hambäck (Sweden, Denmark, Norway)
• Born in the Jungle, Edmunds Jansons (Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic)
• The Last Whale Singer, Reza Memari (Germany, Czech Republic, Canada)
• Dudley and the Invasion of the Space Slugs, Cherifa Bakhti (Luxembourg, Belgium, France, India)
• Girl in the Clouds, Philippe Riche (France, Belgium)
• Monster Mia, Verena Fels (Austria, Spain, Germany)
• The Legend of the Golden Buffalo, Tranh Lam Tung (Vietnam)