Discover our 3D Character animation programmes on our Annecy Campus!
👉 Bachelor 3D Character animation 3-year programme: https://www.gobelins-school.com/anima…
👉 3D Character Animator – 1 year programme: https://www.gobelins-school.com/anima…
Trailer: Spiked Out | Walter Lapin – French Premiere on March 25th
Well this is very exciting. Also tres excitant! The French trailer for Spiked is out. Aka Walter Lapin!
French Premiere on March 25th.
Jules de Jongh and I wrote this wonderful film for Fabrique d‚Images and KAPERS ANIMATION LIMITED. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll want a toy alligator. Enjoy the trailer here and passez un excellent moment au cinéma et n’oubliez pas d’emmener les enfants. Big shout out to the director who worked her magic to pull many rabbits out of this hat, Caroline Origer. Bravo!
David Freedman
Zootopia 2 | The Heart of the Cinematic Phenomenon
Disney’s Zootopia 2, winner of the BAFTA for Best Animated Film, is now an Academy Award Nominee for Best Animated Feature. Zootopia 2 is “one of Disney Animation’s greatest achievements of the 21st century.” – The Hollywood Handle After cracking the biggest case in Zootopia’s history, rookie cops Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman) find their partnership isn’t as solid as they thought when Chief Bogo (voice of Idris Elba) orders them to join the Partners in Crisis counseling program.
But it doesn’t take long for their partnership to be put to the ultimate test when they find themselves on the twisting trail of a mystery tied to the arrival of a venomous snake in the animal metropolis. While “Zootopia 2” introduces Gary De’Snake (voice of Ke Huy Quan), Nibbles (voice of Fortune Feimster) and quokka therapist Dr. Fuzzby (voice of Quinta Brunson), the upcoming feature film also welcomes back a herd of characters who made their debut in the Oscar®-winning film “Zootopia.” “It’s been an absolute joy to reteam with so many actors who made the first film so special, and so exciting to expand the world with our phenomenal new cast members,” said director/writer Jared Bush (chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios). “I can’t wait for audiences to see what other surprises we have in store in this brand-new adventure.”
Ars Electronica 2026: Press Conference Annual and Festival Theme | Monday, March 2, 2026, at 9:00/11:15 am (CET), live from the Deep Space 8K at the Ars Electronica Center
From September 9 to 13, 2026, Linz will once again be the venue for the Ars Electronica Festival, which this time will turn the city center into a stage for art, technology, and society.
As part of the festival, the Ars Electronica Center will also celebrate its 30th anniversary and present new exhibitions to mark the occasion.
The thematic focus of the Ars Electronica Year 2026, the central locations and content highlights of the festival, and the anniversary plans of the Ars Electronica Center will be presented by Veronika Liebl (Managing Director of the Ars Electronica Festival), and Gerfried Stocker (Artistic Director of Ars Electronica) during a press conference on Monday, March 2, 2026, at 9:00 am (CET), live from the Deep Space 8K at the Ars Electronica Center.
https://ars.electronica.art/festival/de/
German Version below:
Ars Electronica 2026: Pressegespräch Festival- und Jahresthema
Von 9. bis 13. September 2026 wird Linz wieder zum Schauplatz des Ars Electronica Festival, das diesmal die Innenstadt zur Bühne für Kunst, Technologie und Gesellschaft macht. Im Rahmen des Festivals feiert zudem das Ars Electronica Center sein 30-jähriges Bestehen und präsentiert aus diesem Anlass neue Ausstellungen. Den thematischen Schwerpunkt des Ars Electronica-Jahres 2026, die zentralen Locations und inhaltlichen Akzente des Festivals sowie die Jubiläumspläne des Ars Electronica Center präsentieren Dietmar Prammer (Bürgermeister der Stadt Linz und Eigentümervertreter Ars Electronica), Doris Lang-Mayerhofer (Kulturstadträtin und Beiratsvorsitzende Ars Electronica), Veronika Liebl (Managing Director Ars Electronica Festival) und Gerfried Stocker (Artistic Director Ars Electronica) gemeinsam mit Elgin Drda (Vizerektorin für Medizin der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz), Brigitte Hütter (Rektorin Kunstuniversität Linz), Manfred Mandl-Kiblböck (Kaufmännischer Geschäftsführer OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH), Hermann Schneider (Intendant des Landestheaters Linz) und Norbert Trawöger (Künstlerischer Direktor Brucknerhaus / LIVA) im Rahmen eines Pressegesprächs am Montag, 2. März 2026, um 11:15 Uhr, im Deep Space 8K des Ars Electronica Center.
Täglich einen Kurzen: „Gorillaz – The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God“
The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God.
Sequence Director Jonathan Djob Nkondo
Producer Eva Dahlqvist
Art Director Eido Hayashi
Production Manager Michaela Dede
Animation Lead Xavier Ramonède
Assistant Animation Lead Seterah Erfan
Compositing Lead Freddie Lewis-wall
https://store.gorillaz.com/de/gorillaz/the-mountain-boxset-edition/0199538697650.html?srsltid=AfmBOorCtt6I9Zuv78fZrXqI2H22CGihc0yWgiTs-EDnux8lzIrOQjS2 Read more
98th Oscars: Visual Effects | Meet The Nominees
Visual Effects combines incredible artistry and technical mastery, and nowhere is that more evident than in the work of this year’s Best Visual Effects Oscar nominees. Meet and learn from the filmmakers who pushed creative and technological boundaries and crafted immersive worlds and spectacles in this year’s Oscar-nominated films.
VISUAL EFFECTS NOMINEES
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
F1
Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH
David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould
THE LOST BUS
Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin
SINNERS
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean
Visual Effects Society Announces Winners for 24th Annual VES Awards: Avatar: Fire and Ash’ leads the night with seven wins; ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ tops animation categories
Los Angeles (February 25, 2026)
Tonight the Visual Effects Society (VES), the VFX industry’s professional global honorary society, held its 24th Annual VES Awards at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Encompassing 25 categories across film, television, technology, gaming, special venue, student projects, and more, the night’s biggest winner was Avatar: Fire and Ash, which took home seven awards in total, including the top prize of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature. Additional wins for Avatar: Fire and Ash included Outstanding Character in a Photoreal Feature for Varang (played by Oona Chaplin, who was on hand at tonight’s awards as a presenter), Outstanding CG Cinematography, and the Emerging Technology Award, given to the Kora Fire Toolset.
In the animation categories, KPop Demon Hunters led the night with three awards, including the top prize of Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature, and Outstanding Character in an Animated Feature for Rumi. Rounding out the top category wins, Sinners won the award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age won for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode, and BMW’s Heart of Joy: Meet Okto the Octopus won for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial.
Additional winners at the 24th Annual VES Awards included the video game Ghost of Yōtei (Outstanding Visual Arts in a Real-Time Project), Andor (Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Project), and Azimuth (Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project). This year’s VES Awards hosts were comedy duo Randy and Jason Sklar (the Sklar Brothers), returning to this role for the second consecutive year. Acclaimed film producer Jerry Bruckheimer was honored with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by his longtime collaborator, F1: The Movie director Joseph Kosinski. Wētā Workshop co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Sir Richard Taylor received this year’s VES Visionary Award, presented by Adam Savage. Additional presenters included Enuka Okuma (Paradise), Haley Joel Osment (The Burbs, Happy Gilmore 2), Jazz Raycole (The Lincoln Lawyer), Lil Rel Howery (One of Them Days), Omar Benson Miller (Sinners), and singer/songwriter Raphael Saadiq (Sinners).
In his acceptance speech, Jerry Bruckheimer addressed the artists in the room, saying: “You create the magic. You create the things that people go to theaters for. You’re the people that we dream about when we go to the movies, when we go into that dark space in the theater, and the work that you do is truly phenomenal.” Sir Richard Taylor shared in his acceptance speech: “Thank you to the VES for this honor. It is a privilege to be part of this remarkable community and a joy to be with you all here on this special night. And if I can leave one thought with you, as I say to our team, there’s only four tenets by which I operate, and that is simply: love of oneself, love of what you do, love of who you do it with, and love of who you do it for. If you can strike those four in your life, you’re doing pretty
well.”
“The VES is honored to recognize brilliant artistry and technological innovation across a wide range of disciplines,” said VES Board Chair, Kim Davidson. “The craft of visual effects is constantly evolving to push the limits of our imaginations, and tonight’s inspiring winners and nominees represent best-in-class work from around the world. Congratulations to all!”
Below is the full list of winners for the 24th Annual VES Awards:
1. OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Richard Baneham
Peter Litvack
Eric Saindon
Nicky Muir
Steve Ingram
2. OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Sinners
Michael Ralla
James Alexander
Nick Marshall
Espen Nordahl
Donnie Dean
3. OUTSTANDING ANIMATION IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
KPop Demon Hunters
Joshua Beveridge
Jacky Priddle
Benjamin Hendricks
Clara Chan
4. OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age; “The Big Freeze”
Russell Dodgson
Tracey Gibbons
François Dumoulin
Gavin McKenzie
5. OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
The Residence; “The Fall of the House of Usher”
Seth Hill
Tesa Kubicek
John Nelson
Gabriel Vargas
6. OUTSTANDING VISUAL ARTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
Ghost of Yōtei
Jason Connell
Matt Vainio
Joanna Wang
Jasmin Patry
7. OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
BMW; “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus”
Tom Raynor
Helen Tang
Jack Harris
Alex Kulikov
8. OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere
Ben Grossmann
Tamara Watts Kent
Dr. Irfan Essa
Matt Dougan
Glenn Derry
9. OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Varang: Leader of the Ash Clan
Stephen Clee
Stuart Adcock
Keven Norris
Joseph Kim
10. OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
KPop Demon Hunters; Rumi
Sophia (Seung Hee) Lee
Andrea Matamoros
Marc Souliere
Joshua Beveridge
11. OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODIC, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
IT: Welcome to Derry; “The Thing in the Dark;” The Pickle Monster
Philip Harris-Genois
Pierric Danjou
Chloé Ostiguy
Jonathan Bourdua
12. OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Bridgehead Industrial City
Gianluca Pizzaia
Steve Bevins
Dziga Kaiser
Zsolt Máté
13. OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Zootopia 2; Marsh Market
Limei Z. Hshieh
Alexander Nicholas Whang
Joshua Fry
Ryan DeYoung
14. OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODIC, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Andor; “Welcome to the Rebellion;” The Senate District
John O’Connell
Falk Boje
Hasan Ilhan
Kevin George
15. OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Steve Deane
A.J. Briones
Zachary Brake
Andrew Moffett
16. OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Avatar: Fire and Ash; The Windtraders‘ Gondola
Michael Smale
Sam Sharplin
Joe W. Churchill
Jacqi Dillon
17. OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Simulating Pandora
Nicholas James Illingworth
Sarah C. Farmer
James Robinson
Ryan Bowden
18. OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
KPop Demon Hunters
Filippo Maccari
Nikolaos Finizio
Daniel La Chapelle
Srdjan Milosevic
19. OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age; The Big Freeze
Edward Ferrysienanda
Kevin Christensen
Guy Schuleman
Kevin Tarpinian
20. OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
F1: The Movie; Modern Race and POV Footage
Hugo Gauvreau
Chris Davies
Raushan Raj
Amaury Rospars
21. OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
The Last of Us; “Through the Valley;” A Storm of Ice, Fire and Flesh
Tobias Wiesner
Mark Julien
Owen Longstaff
Brendan Naylor
22. OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
BMW; “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus”
Alex Kulikov
Jack Harris
Adam Chabane
Nicola Borsari
23. OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Andor; “Who Are You?”
Luke Murphy
Dean Ford
Jody Eltham
Darrell Guyon
24. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Avatar: Fire and Ash; Kora Fire Toolset
Alexey Dmitrievich Stomakhin
John Edholm
Murali Ramachari
Aleksandr Isakov
25. OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Azimuth
Thomas Teisseire
Cassandre Cinier
Martin Bluy
Mathis Giraudeau
For more information about the VES, visit https://www.vesglobal.org/.
About the Visual Effects Society
The Visual Effects Society is a nonprofit global community of over 5,500 VFX professionals across 50+ countries, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects while upholding the highest standards for the profession. As the entertainment industry’s only official organization representing the extended global VFX community—including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators, and studio executives—VES members contribute to all areas of entertainment: film, television, commercials, animation, games, and new media. To learn more, visit www.vesglobal.org and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X. Read our award-winning publication VFX Voice at www.vfxvoice.com.
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Animationsinstitut: „A SPARROW’S SONG“ wins Annie Award
Pressrelease Animationinstitute/ Filmacademy Baden Württemberg:
Graduation film A SPARROW’S SONG wins the world’s most prestigious award in animation and continues its international success story
Ludwigsburg, February 24th 2026
The diploma film A SPARROW’S SONG has won the Annie Award 2026 in the category Best Student Film. Created at the Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, the film was represented by director and producer Tobias Eckerlin, who accepted the award together with Lilli-Luisa Heckmann (Lead Animator) and Vincent Maurer (Technical Director) at the ceremony on February 21st 2026 in Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
With A SPARROW’S SONG recognised alongside another diploma project, THE UNDYING PAIN OF EXISTENCE, which was also nominated in the same category, the Animationsinstitut demonstrates once again the outstanding quality and international visibility of its student productions.
In October 2025, A SPARROW’S SONG could already achieve a Gold Student Academy Award, further establishing it as one of the most remarkable student animated films worldwide.
A SPARROW’S SONG is a 3D animated short film based on a true story. It tells the story of an elderly widow during World War II, who unexpectedly draws new hope through her connection with an injured sparrow. Together, they spread this newfound hope and thus manage to offer some comfort to others in these difficult times.
The production involved 56 students and graduates from the Animationsinstitut, including core team members Tobias Eckerlin, Vincent Maurer (Technical Director), Elias Weber (Lead Character Artist), Lilli-Luisa Heckmann and Jiro Magracia (Lead Animators), and Rebecca Liebelt (Groom Artist).
Dr Jan Pinkava, Director of the Animationsinstitut, emphasises the significance of this achievement: “Wonderful! The Annie Awards are Hollywood’s highest honours for animation, open to the whole world. So we are delighted that Tobi Eckerlin’s diploma film “A SPARROW’S SONG” won the prize. Congratulations to Tobi and the entire team! The Filmakademie was especially honoured at this year’s Annie Awards, receiving 2 of the 5 nominations for Best Student Film. This recognition is a testament to the exceptional talent and outstanding teaching that we see every day at the Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.”
The Annie Awards are among the world’s most prestigious animation prizes and are presented by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) in Hollywood. The 53rd ceremony, which honoured the best animated works of 2025, took place on February 21st 2026 in Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles. A SPARROW’S SONG is the third production from the Animationsinstitut to win an Annie Award; previously, eight projects from the institute had been nominated. Awards were presented in 32 competitive categories as well as four special prizes.
The Animationsinstitut and the entire Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg warmly congratulate the team of A SPARROW’S SONG on this outstanding achievement.
About the Animationsinstitut
The Animationsinstitut at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg trains outstanding talents at the highest level in the fields of animation, visual effects, technical directing, animation/effects producing and interactive media. In addition, the institute runs a research & development department and curates the annual international conference FMX – Film & Media Exchange (www.fmx.de). For more information about studying at the Animationsinstitut visit www.animationsinstitut.de.
Annie Awards 2026: „Animation is not a genre — it is one of the most powerful and enduring creative mediums in the world!“ | Remarks by Aubry Mintz, Executive Director, ASIFA-Hollywood
On Saturday, February 21st the 53rd Annie Awards™ celebration took place at UCLA’s Royce Hall. During the Ceremony Aubry Mintz, Executive Director of Asifa Hollywood delivered a speech, which we want to share with you with the kind permission of its author:
Good evening, Tonight at the Annies, we honor animation the way it deserves — across 35 categories celebrating innovators, risk-takers, and champions of this art form. At most other award shows, animation gets just one or two. Two categories for an entire universe of artistry.
Look around. You are the artists who build worlds from nothing. You shape culture, and inspire generations across borders and languages. Yet too often, animation is confined to a single box. Some people forget: animation is storytelling. It is filmmaking. It fills theaters, breaks box office records, pushes technology forward, and moves hearts. Animation is not a genre — it is one of the most powerful and enduring creative mediums in the world— and it deserves to be recognized that way. And that belief drives our mission.
We do that, in part, with the Annie Awards of course, but ASIFA-Hollywood is more than the Annies. We preserve animation history. We are advocates creating spaces for learning, dialogue, and connection. And we educate the next generation. We are a safety net when our community needs one most.
Last year, in 2025, this community showed the world exactly who we are. 
When wildfires devastated California and displaced animation artists, you showed up. Nearly $700,000 was raised to help our colleagues begin rebuilding their lives through AnimAID. That wasn’t obligation. That was community. That was animation taking care of its own.
Tonight, I’m proud to share two initiatives that continue this work.
First, thanks to a generous gift from the family of the late Will Ryan, ASIFA- Hollywood is launching a new industry honor:
The Will Ryan Excellence in Humor Award, recognizing emerging talent whose work pushes animation forward with innovation, creativity, and above all, humor. Submission details will be available in the coming months at asifa-hollywood.org.
We are all very grateful to the Will Ryan family for their generosity.
Second, and this is where you come in, our Board of Directors and newly formed Advisory Board have come together with a clear narrative: to sustain and grow our vital programs, we must invest in ASIFA-Hollywood.
When you support ASIFA-Hollywood, you are ensuring that animation is seen, heard, and valued. Artists are recognized and supported, and our worldwide community remains connected, resilient, and strong for generations to come. To invest in the organization that invests in animation, you can donate right now.
Follow the link: https://asifa-hollywood.org/support-us
We promise you that ASIFA-Hollywood will deliver with bold initiatives, deeper connections, and new ways of bringing this community together…and who knows maybe even MORE Annies categories. We can’t wait to show you what’s next!
Honoring excellence in the field of animation, the 53rd Annual Annie Awards were presented in 37 categories including Animated Feature, Animated Feature-Independent, Television/Media Production(s), Sponsored Production, Short Subject and Student Film, as well as the Achievement and Honorary awards.
All Winners here: https://annieawards.org/winners
If you like here is the full show to rewatch again and again! Hint: Kpop Demon Hunters had a great night! And Aaron Blaise got an Annie Award for Snow Bear. Two Annie Awards went to Germany, woohooo!
Have a look:
LIVESTREAM – The 53rd Annual Annie Awards is taking place tonight, Saturday, February 21, 2026. 07.00 p.m. (19:00) PST (Pacific Standard Time)
Dress Code: Black tie, dressy, after-five attire.
Honoring excellence in the field of animation, the 53rd Annual Annie Awards will be presented
in 37 categories including Animated Feature, Animated Feature-Independent, Television/Media Production(s), Sponsored Production, Short Subject and Student Film, as well as the Achievement and Honorary awards.
The 53rd Annual Annie Awards will take place on Saturday, February 21, 2026 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD
This past year has been a challenging one for ourcommunity. Amid sweeping changes across the industry, we have heard from many artists experiencing displacement and uncertainty about what the future may hold. These moments can feel isolating—but they also remind us how vital our collective strength truly is. It’s important to remember that behind every technological advancement lies the need for artists to guide the way. Our community leads with vision. We are trained to think beyond boundaries, to imagine what doesn’t yet exist, and to use creativity as a compass. That has always been—and will always be—our greatest power as we navigate what comes next. ASIFA-Hollywood is here for you. We see ourselves as a conduit: a place to help empower artists, elevate concerns, and work together toward meaningful solutions. As a nonprofit organization, our role is toprovide assistance where it’s needed most and to create opportunities for connection, growth, and collaboration.
While ASIFA-Hollywood is widely recognized for the Annie Awards, our work extends far beyond a single annual celebration. Especially in times like these, when community matters more than ever, we support artists, studios, educators, and students through a broad range of year-round programs.
In 2025, this community showed what it means to stand together. When more than 90 animation artists lost their homes in the California wildfires, we listened—and we acted. Through AnimAID, and with the generosity of this community, nearly $700,000 was raised to help our colleagues begin rebuilding their lives. This is who we are: a community that shows up for one another. ASIFA- Hollywood is proud to help create the structure that makes that possible.
Our mission for 2026 is to elevate animation as both an art form and a profession, strengthening the community that sustains it. Animation is one of the most influential and enduring creative mediums in the world, yet it is still too often undervalued and misunderstood within the entertainment industry. With your support, we can help change that.
By investing in ASIFA-Hollywood, you help ensure that animation is seen, heard, and valued; that its creators are recognized and supported; and that our community remains connected, resilient, and strong for generations to come.
Thank you for being here.
Warm regards,
Ottawa International Animation Festival marks 50 years with new poster by acclaimed Canadian cartoonist Seth
OTTAWA, Ont. – February 19, 2026 – To celebrate its 50th anniversary in September, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), North America’s largest animation festival, has unveiled its official 2026 poster, created by acclaimed Canadian cartoonist and designer Seth.
Founded in 1976, the OIAF has spent five decades championing animation as an art form, presenting groundbreaking films and connecting audiences with world-class creators. Each year, the festival commissions an artist to design its official poster, a long-standing tradition that has included illustrators and animators such as Torill Kove (2025), Matthew Rankin (2023), Wong Ping (2022), Gary Baseman (2007), Gary Panter (2005), Dave Cooper (2001), and Wendy Tilby (1990).
For this milestone year, Seth brings his signature mid-century aesthetic and storytelling flair to a whimsical new image featuring Owlbert, a scholarly owl surrounded by stacks of books, and Frogworth, a projector-operating frog. The pair reflect the festival’s mix of intellect, creativity and humour.
“When I was asked to draw the poster for the Ottawa International Animation Festival, I was only given one requirement,” said Seth. “It must have an owl in it. That was fine with me. I like owls. They are a great classic cartoon image … Out of nowhere, a nerdish frog appeared to run the film projector. No names were requested for these characters yet, ‘Owlbert’ and ‘Frogworth’ found their way into my brain.”
In his artist’s statement, Seth highlights the creative kinship between comics and animation. “Graphic novelists and animators are related, but they come from very different branches of the cartooning family,” he said. “My medium is all about stillness, and animation is all about movement … I have the deepest respect for the noble calling of animation in all its various forms, and it is a lovely honour to draw this year’s poster.”
“For our 50th, I wanted to find an artist who truly reflects a Canadian sensibility and aesthetic,” said OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson. “I’ve long admired Seth’s hypnotic, emotive, and original work. With an introduction from Luc Chamberland, who directed Seth’s Dominion, the OIAF Grand Prize winner for Best Feature in 2014, I reached out and was thrilled when Seth agreed to collaborate. The result is everything I hoped for: a distinctly Seth creation that captures the OIAF’s spirit—warm, mysterious, and a little offbeat.”
About Seth
Seth is a cartoonist, designer and collector. His Books include Wimbledon Green, George Sprott, and It’s a Good Life if you Don’t Weaken. He was the designer for The Complete Peanuts, The Collected Doug Wright and The New World-Comics from Mauritania. He is the subject of the award-winning NFB documentary Seth’s Dominion and was the winner, in 2011, of the prestigious Harbourfront prize. After 20 years of serialization, his Graphic Novel, Clyde Fans, was published in 2019 and went on to be the first graphic novel ever nominated for the Giller Prize. In 2021, his bronze sculpture arrangement, Living Room Suite, was installed in front of the Art Gallery of Guelph. In 2022, Seth was honoured by the French government as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is currently working on a new long graphic novel which will appear in the years to come. He lives in Guelph, Ontario, with his beloved wife Tania.
Statement from the Artist
When I was asked to draw the poster for the Ottawa International Animation Festival, I was only given one requirement. It must have an owl in it. That was fine with me. I like owls. They are a great classic cartoon image. Immediately, I settled on a typical bookish, tweedy owl. The go-to owl. I suppose I could have gone against type and done, say, a skinny little punk-rock owl, but who am I kidding? It was always going to be this frumpy old owl. That’s my sensibility. Out of nowhere, a nerdish frog appeared to run the film projector. No names were requested for these characters yet, “Owlbert” and “Frogworth” found their way into my brain. I assume they have a kind of Siskel and Ebert sort of relationship (aha—thus the “Bert” part of the name).
When I turned in the drawing, my good friend Luc Chamberland (animator and director) asked me why I had surrounded Owlbert with books instead of film canisters. It was a good point. Though, to be honest, it never even occurred to me. Owls are wise. Owls read books. If I had a screening room, it would be full of books. In this case, surely they are books about animation!
Graphic Novelists and animators are related, but they come from very different branches of the cartooning family. My medium is all about stillness, and animation is all about movement. It is an interesting difference. When I first saw some of my work animated, I was amazed to fully realize how utterly apart these two branches are. It was a good experience for someone like myself who genuinely loves animation and thinks they understand it…but perhaps is kidding himself. I have the deepest respect for the noble calling of animation in all its various forms, and it is a lovely honour to draw this year’s poster.
Good luck to all the nominees.
Seth
Palookaville, 2026
About the Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events, providing screenings, exhibits, workshops, and entertainment since 1976. Attracting artists, producers, students and animation fans from around the globe, the OIAF brings together art and industry to experience world-class animated works. OIAF’s 50th celebration runs from September 23 to September 27 at venues throughout downtown Ottawa
Toy Story 5 | Official Trailer | In Theaters June 19
Times may change but friends are forever #ToyStory5 is only in theaters June 19
An all-new trailer and poster for Disney and Pixar’s highly anticipated upcoming animated adventure “Toy Story 5” debut today.
The toys are back and this time, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang’s jobs are challenged when they come face-to-face with Lilypad (voice of Greta Lee), a brand-new tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie. Will playtime ever be the same?
The trailer also teases the anticipated reunion of Woody and Buzz following Woody’s decision to leave the gang and start helping lost toys at the end of 2019’s “Toy Story 4.”
As the toys face the tech devices of today, it’s going to be all hands on deck with some familiar and all-new characters.
Several actors have joined the incredible roster of voice talent including Craig Robinson as Atlas, a cheerful talking GPS hippo toy; Shelby Rabara as the excitable camera toy Snappy; Scarlett Spears as the sweet and shy 8-year-old Bonnie; Mykal-Michelle Harris as Blaze, an independent 8-year-old girl who loves animals; and Matty Matheson as the tech-fearing toy Dr. Nutcase.
Also rounding out the voice cast are John Ratzenberger as the wisecracking piggybank Hamm; Wallace Shawn as Rex, the anxiety-riddled tyrannosaurus rex toy; Blake Clark as the ever-loyal Slinky Dog; Jeff Bergman as the sarcastic Mr. Potato Head; Anna Vocino as the nurturing Mrs. Potato Head; Annie Potts as the adventure-loving Bo Peep; Bonnie Hunt as the wise rag-doll Dolly; Melissa Villaseñor as Karen Beverly, Bonnie’s homemade toy fashioned out of a plastic knife; John Hopkins as the dignified hedgehog plush toy Mr. Pricklepants; Kristen Schaal as the plastic triceratops toy Trixie; Ernie Hudson as the action figure Combat Carl; and Keanu Reeves as Canadian daredevil toy Duke Caboom. The previously announced voice cast includes Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear), Joan Cusack (Jessie), Greta Lee (Lilypad), Conan O’Brien (Smarty Pants) and Tony Hale (Forky).
“Toy Story 5” is directed by Academy Award® winner Andrew Stanton (“WALL•E,” “Finding Nemo,” “Finding Dory”), co-directed by Kenna Harris (“Ciao Alberto”), produced by Lindsey Collins (“Turning Red,” “WALL•E,” “Finding Dory”), and features an original score by Academy Award® winner Randy Newman who returns to score his fifth “Toy Story” feature.
The film releases exclusively in theaters nationwide on June 19, 2026.
ABOUT PIXAR: Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award®-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. The Northern California studio has created some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Cars,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL•E,” “Up,” “Brave,” “Inside Out,” “Coco,” “Soul,” “Turning Red,” “Elemental,” and “Inside Out 2.”
15 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE HONORED WITH ACADEMY AWARDS®
February 18, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that 15 scientific and technical achievements, represented by 27 individual award recipients, will be honored at its annual Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Awarded since 1931, the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards honor the individuals and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant and lasting ways to motion pictures. These awards include the Scientific and Technical Service Award, the Technical Achievement Award and the Scientific and Engineering Award.
„The Academy is honored to announce this year’s Scientific and Technical Awards recipients, whose extraordinary achievements continue to shape the art and craft of filmmaking,“ said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor. „Their innovation, dedication and technical excellence have had a profound impact across our industry, enabling filmmakers to bring powerful stories to audiences around the world. We are thrilled to celebrate these individuals and achievements.“
„This year’s awards celebrate a global community of innovators who solve the industry’s most complex technical challenges,“ said Darin Grant and Rachel Rose, co-chairs of the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards Committee. „Whether through enhancing the safety of practical effects with lead-free bullet hits or pushing the limits of stop-motion animation and sound restoration, these technologies are now fundamental to the craft. We are honored to recognize the brilliant minds behind these tools, which continue to elevate the moviegoing experience.“
The Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievements are:
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
To Brent Bell for the research and development of safe, reliable and effective small lead-free pyrotechnic devices used extensively in motion picture productions throughout the world.
Brent Bell at De La Mare Engineering, Inc. successfully modernized the industry standard for bullet hits by engineering a high-output, lead-free product line through extensive chemical research and the development of specialized and precise manufacturing processes.
To Josef Köhler for developing the first small lead-free pyrotechnic devices available at scale.
Josef Köhler Pyrotechnics set a critical precedent by overcoming significant chemical engineering hurdles to provide the film industry with a non-toxic, low-flash alternative that preserved the use of practical bullet hits while meeting rigorous new European safety and environmental standards.
To Ian Medwell for developing small lead-free pyrotechnic devices used extensively for motion picture production throughout the United Kingdom.
Sterling Pyrotechnics‘ high-performance, lead-free alternative to traditional squibs provides the film industry with a non-toxic, repeatable solution for practical bullet effects that maintains technical compatibility with legacy devices.
To Andrea Weidlich, for her research on layered materials and implementation of the layering operators and BSDFs in Wētā FX’s Manuka renderer.
Weidlich’s research and the methods underlying Manuka’s layered material system have been influential across the visual effects industry and have allowed Wētā FX to raise the bar for photorealism.
To Luca Fascione for the initial design and development of the layered materials system at Wētā FX.
The Manuka renderer’s efficient and flexible system for layering materials has unlocked workflows that have allowed Wētā FX to scale to ever-larger productions while giving artists both creative freedom and physical accuracy.
To Vincent Dedun and Emmanuel Turquin for the design, architecture and engineering, and to Jonathan Moulin for the design and creative vision of Lama at Industrial Light & Magic.
Lama provides an artist-friendly approach to composing materials built from layers representing distinct physical phenomena. Its modular, carefully curated design allows look development artists to create unique, physically plausible appearances without writing shader code. Its ease of use has expanded and accelerated shading workflows at Industrial Light & Magic and led to broader industry adoption via its inclusion in Pixar’s RenderMan.
To Josh Bainbridge and Nathan Walster for the design, architecture and engineering of the layered shading system at Framestore.
Framestore’s layered shading system was among the first to enable its users to generate novel, realistic appearances in a modular workflow by combining material layers in a physically plausible fashion. Its development has enabled Framestore to deliver diverse looks across a broad creative catalog of filmmakers’ requirements.
To Bret St.Clair and Marc-Andre Davignon, for the design and engineering of the suite of brushing and patching tools, and to Pav Grochola and Edmond Boulet-Gilly, for the design and engineering of the Superdraw and Kismet linework tools.
These tools at Sony Pictures Imageworks enabled the large-scale application of a wide variety of custom artistic styles across animated features that inspired the industry.
To Baptiste Van Opstal, Jeff Budsberg, Michael Losure, Jon Lanz and Eszter Offertaler for their contributions to the stylized animation toolset at DreamWorks Animation.
From linework authoring and animation to novel brushing and stamping methods, this toolset facilitates the wide range of unique art styles and painterly effects seen across DreamWorks Animation films while providing artistic control at every stage of production.
To Benjamin Graf for the design, engineering and development of dxRevive Pro.
dxRevive Pro has transformed modern dialog restoration practices, combining noise reduction, layered separation and resynthesis to achieve results that maintain the realism, continuity and the emotional fidelity of on-set performances thereby reducing the need for ADR in the postproduction process.
To John Ellwood for the innovative rules and heuristics underlying the metadata and timecode matching, and to Jeff Bloom for the groundbreaking waveform matching in the Titan auto-assembly software for digital audio.
Titan pioneered the auto-assembly of digital audio, eliminating the need for sound editors to manually align their sessions, and stood as the benchmark for many subsequent systems.
To Marc Joel Specter for the design and development of the Kraken Dialogue Editors Toolkit, enabling precise audio assembly.
With an intuitive user interface and transcription utility that provides audio asset management, enabling direct access to edit decision lists and audio session files, Kraken expedites the assembly of audio files while providing visual aids to find and resolve issues.
To Justin Webster for the design and engineering of Matchbox, a system for audio and video matching that enables auto-reconform.
Providing detailed insight into differences between audio and video files, even in the absence of metadata, Matchbox enables rapid application of changes in post-production while preserving previous creative work.
To Paul Debevec for his pioneering work in high dynamic range, image-based lighting techniques.
Debevec demonstrated the advantages of high dynamic range image-based lighting, and, through advocacy of the approach, led the industry to embrace new workflows. This has enabled artists to work more productively and improved the realism of computer graphics imagery in feature films.
SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING AWARD
To Jamie Caliri and Dyami Caliri for the design, engineering and continuing development of the Dragonframe software suite.
Dragonframe represents an expertly designed suite of integrated tools that has transformed stop-motion animation, eliminating fragmented, error-prone methods while enabling precision at scale.
Unlike other Academy Awards® to be presented this year, achievements receiving Scientific and Technical Awards need not have been developed and introduced during a specified period. Instead, the achievements must demonstrate a proven record of contributing significant value to the process of making motion pictures.
To learn more about the Scientific and Technical Awards, visit https://www.oscars.org/sci-tech.
ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s premier film organization and is home to a global membership of more than 11,000 of the most accomplished film industry artists and leaders. The Academy connects global audiences – its members, the film industry, and film fans – through their shared passion for making and watching films. The Academy does this by recognizing and celebrating the arts and sciences of moviemaking through renowned awards for cinematic achievement, including the Oscars®, the Governors Awards, and the Scientific and Technical Awards. The Academy’s affiliated charitable organization, the Academy Foundation, serves a public benefit through its robust educational, preservation and cultural activities. This includes the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the world’s largest global film museum, the Academy Collection, the largest film-related collection in the world, and talent development programs for emerging artists. Year-round, the Academy creates opportunities for all communities to engage with the film world.
FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
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FMX 2026 / Newsletter: Pandora’s Splendour, Animal Communication, and a Lone Wolf
FMX Press Release February 18th 2026
HELLO EVERYONE,
It’s time for some real treats!
Eric Saindon (Senior VFX Supervisor) and Sam Cole (VFX Supervisor) from Wētā FX are going to share how they made everything look even more splendid in „Avatar: Fire and Ash“. One task was in the movie’s title: creating spectacular digital flames.
Visual Effects Supervisor Beth Albright (Pixar) will go into detail about the stylized animation in the long-awaited new feature „Hoppers“. Scientists are in for some surprises when they manage to decipher the communications of animals.
And then there’s the lone wolf who becomes a vegetarian in order to find friends. The French Intermarché commercial „Le mal aimé“ went viral globally, and animation director Benoit Bargeton (Illogic Studios) is going to explain how an independent studio can pull off top-notch animation.
Premium Partners of FMX make an important contribution to the conference: Welcome AMCRS, Accenture Song VFX and Ayon!
Early Bird options are in place until March 20 in the FMX Ticketshop – go have a look!
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH: Taking Pandora to the Next Level
Academy Award® winning Senior VFX Supervisor, Eric Saindon and VFX Supervisor, Sam Cole, will overview the process of creating Wētā FX’s 3,100+ shots from „Avatar: Fire and Ash“. They will reveal how the team blended extensive native stereo photography with CG environments, fully digital performance-captured characters, and physics based coupled effects simulations.
They will also talk about how a new tool, Kora, was created for more art directable fire and the additional improvements that were made to Wētā’s muscle-driven facial system, to stay anatomically plausible, while preserving the intent of the performances. This film is the product of 20 years of close collaboration with filmmakers, and continual technical innovations to achieve the highest quality storytelling and visual spectacle.
This session is part of the FMX track VFX for Features.
HOPPERS: Stylization as a System
How do you design a world that can be funny, suspenseful, and epic—sometimes all at once? Visual Effects Supervisor Beth Albright (Pixar) breaks down the stylized visual language of Hoppers, from felted characters and tactile environments to an innovative brushstroke projection pipeline.
Learn how the team preserved physical realism to hold emotional stakes while shaping surfaces for clarity and appeal. It’s a deep dive into stylization as a system—across modeling, animation, simulation, and lighting—built in service of story.
This session is part of the FMX track Feature Animation.
LE MAL AIMÉ: Artistic Choices and Cross-Department Collaboration
In his talk, animation director Benoit Bargeton (Illogic Studios) explores how feature film level animation can be achieved in a commercial context. It takes the Intermarché campaign’s wolf as a central character and shows how an independent studio adapted its workflow and resources to deliver a project of this scale.
The session focuses on artistic and acting choices, and the technical decisions made to support these directions, as well as cross-department collaboration between modeling, rigging, and animation.
This session is part of the FMX track Shorts
ITFS 2026 Trailer: KEY | Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart
More about the trailer: https://itfstrailer.de/
Credits for KEY:
Directors: Katrin Merdian, Chaerin Yoo
Producers: Anna-Lena Haas, Katrin Merdian
Animators: Katharina Ernert, Fatima Wajid, Chaerin Yoo, Katrin Merdian, Hannah Bender
Lead Animators: Katharina Ernert, Fatima Wajid
Art Director & Compositor: Hannah Bender
Music Composers: Leon Maximilian Brückner, Constantin Rinke
Sound Designer, Re-Recording Mixer
Foley Artist: Vladyslava Kandyba
Foley Mixer: Hannes Bechtold
Editor: Jonathan Scheid
A Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg production
Director of Animationsinstitut: Dr. Jan Pinkava
Anitrailer & Aniplay: Johannes Weiland & Clara Deitmar
Creative Supervision: Prof. Andreas Hykade
Head of Production: Yannick Paul Petzold
We would like to thank the staff of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and ITFS
https://animationsinstitut.de/de/
https://www.filmakademie.de/de/starts…
© Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH 2025
