While at MIFA, Annecy Animation Festival‘s dedicated market, Canadian professionals will come in their throngs with suitcases full of intriguing projects, Canadian artists and studios are set to delight moviegoers and animation buffs alike.
From indie shorts and arthouse features to 3D family-friendly blockbusters, Canada’s presence this year is a definite sign of a resilient animation industry.
Ahead of the festival, Variety spoke with producers, artists, directors and creators behind 10 Canadian projects. Whether coming from a strong festival debut or premiering at Annecy, all share the same excitement in joining the benevolent and welcoming animation community at this year’s festival.
After its world premiere in Cannes, “Tangles“, comes to Annecy with strong word-of-mouth and rave reviews. With its strong cast including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Abbi Jacobson and Bryan Cranston in principal parts, with producer Seth Rogen among the cameoing talents, “Tangles” is a strong contender of Annecy’s main feature competition.
“It all began with a desire to honor the beautiful, brave, weird, dark graphic memoir by Sarah Leavitt,” recalls Director Leah Nelson. “The book– both its story and its illustrations – was what captured my heart, and I knew it could translate into animation.”
Collaborating with Manddy Wyckens, art director on “Tangles”, also helped Nelson achieve her vision. “Her work is fearless and expressive, using light not only to shape an image but also to communicate emotion. Together, we were able to create a visual language that felt both emotionally resonant and visually distinctive, while remaining faithful to the spirit of the book.”
According to Nelson, the process was deeply collaborative from start to finish. “Those production decisions weren’t always easy, but I was lucky to be surrounded by an extraordinary team of artists and designers who helped navigate them. Together, we found creative solutions that allowed us to realize the film we envisioned without compromising its heart or ambition.”
In a bungalow surrounded by an impenetrable wall, a woman has been raised in isolation by a talking screen mounted on the living room wall, fullfilling her every wish without ever revealing the reasons for its life and existence.
Directors Brigitte Archambault and Eva Cvijanović (“The House of the Hedgehog,” 2017) join with Embuscade Films producer and “Death Does Not Exist” director Félix Dufour-Laperrière and National Film Board producer Jelena Popović for this new feature, which will be presented in Annecy during a must-see WIP session on Monday.
“At its core, ‘The Shiatsung Project’ asks: what becomes of our humanity in a world controlled by technology,” explains Archambault, who also wrote the graphic novel on which the film is based. “To explore this, we dove into sexuality and our relationship with our bodies, using animation to keep these themes symbolic and poetic rather than shocking.”
Eva Cvijanović, who devoured Brigitte’s comic book in one sitting, resonates strongly with the film’s theme of forced isolation and the longing for connection. “For our film adaptation, I poured my energy into translating her strong visuals into the cinematic realm. We used Unreal Engine to experiment with lenses and lighting, and even pulled from the ‘Lost Highway’ soundtrack. That tense, seductive soundscape of a ’90s erotic thriller felt like the perfect fit to inform the mood.”
National Film Board of Canada brings Catherine Lepage’s short “Ultra Strong” in this year’s Annecy official competition, a year after premiering the Academy Award-winning short “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” at the festival’s opening.
In this colorful blend of 2D animation and ink on paper short, Catherine Lepage invites the viewer into a candid and self-deprecating autofictional story. With a special appearance by Iron Maiden singer-songwriter Bruce Dickinson who plays an idealized version of himself, “Ultra Strong” also features original music by Régine Chassagne (founding member of Arcade Fire), marking her debut as a solo film score composer.
“Catherine really is me,” jokes Lepage. “I’ve put myself in a position of vulnerability since my very first book, 12 uninteresting months, in which I talk about depression. Publishing that book was a huge step, and it was very well received. With the film, since I had already revealed myself, I let myself have more fun.”
The NFB technical director summed up Lepage’s technique with the expression “digital silk-screening,” which was quite funny to the artist as “there’s no such thing. I bring the print aesthetic to film. My approach is inspired by the technique I’d use if I was making a hand-printed book, using simple methods and a limited colour palette. I work with blocks of colour.”
“Ultra Strong” screens in Annecy’s main short competition.
When Snoopy runs away from home, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang go on an emotional and wondrous journey to the vibrant Big City, as they search for Snoopy and discover that real friendship means loving each other just as they are.
Brought forth by Halifax-based WildBrain and a spin-off from the 2015 “Peanuts” movie, “Snoopy Unleashed” is directed by Primetime Emmy Award winner and “Peanuts” director Steve Martino, a lifelong fan of Schulz’s beloved characters. “My dad read the comics to me as a kid, before I could even read, and I was six years old when ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ first aired. Watching that and the other Peanuts holiday specials became a tradition that marked the holiday season for me each year.”
Teasing is must-see Annecy WIP, Martino continues: “My fundamental approach to ‘Snoopy Unleashed’ is to honor the legacy of Charles Schulz, while creating an animated feature film experience both for existing fans and a new generation who will get to know these wonderful characters for the first time. I feel that CG animation provides the opportunity to create an experience that is rich in the detail of lighting, texture, and dimensionality that can support the storytelling. The artistic challenge is to use these tools to craft a movie where you can also feel Sparky’s pen line.”
“Snoopy Unleashed” is slated for 2027 on Apple TV.
Portugal’s traditional painted ceramic tiles, azulejos, come to life in “Virgin Fandango,” an innovative 11-minute short film premiering at Annecy. Directed by Marcy Page and co-produced by Ciclopes Filmes and Blue Dada Productions, the stop-motion musical animates over 12,000 hand-painted tiles and boldly reimagines the Virgin Mary as a rebellious, dancing, and empowering figure.
Blending vibrant music with a visual mosaic referencing 170 historical women and female animators, “Virgin Fandango” is a one-of-a-kind short, crafted over almost a decade by a very small team of dedicated artists.
Azulejos themselves inspired director-producer Marcy Page, who fell in love with the blueish tiles and wanted to experiment with it. “At the same time, these murals are mostly used to deify saints, kings and men, so I thought: what if I could use them to celebrate women of history, who are often less celebrated? Mary, a well-known figure in Portugal still much celebrated, was the perfect character to carry this empowering story, with music by acclaimed composer Normand Roger.
“Virgin Fandango” screens in Annecy’s main short competition.
A tactile, stop-motion poem built from decayed 16mm film, dried kombucha Scobys, and bubbling ferments, “Invisible Harvests” marks Stephanie Dudley’s return to Annecy, 15 years after her previous short “Little Theatres: Homage to the Mineral of Cabbage.”
Treating animation as a process of transformative decay, the film traces inherited rituals and blends animation techniques with Dudley’s signature approach.
“Here, I really let the subject matter dictate the media,” explains the director. “The film is a mixture of digital stop motion photography with puppets and miniature props and sets, timelapse macro photography, live action, 2D computer animation, and 16mm film.”
Inspired by a manifesto about fermentation by Mercedes Villalba, Dudley’s film is more of a meditation on loss, with a hint of political subtext. “I feel like doing things that take time, refusing conveniences and waiting are political acts. Sitting with boredom is a political act. So for me, anything that requires patience is doing something to change my brain, and is an act of refusal in a sense, a way of paying closer attention.”
“Invisible Harvests” screens in Annecy’s main short competition.
Dan has a gaping hole in his neck that won’t heal. Why? He can’t remember or talk about it. Back in his sinister childhood realm, he must find the part of himself he left behind that now prevents him, as an adult, from being whole.
Presented in Locarno last year,” “What We Leave Behind” is directed by the multi-awarded duo Jean-Sébastien Hamel & Alexandra Myotte (“A Hole in the Chest”). According to the directors, the film was born from a personal necessity to explore trauma not as a past event, but as a living, persistent presence.
Dan, the protagonist, carries a visible wound, a missing piece in his neck, which represents the pain that we cannot express or escape.
“Through this film, we want to show how trauma leaves traces in the body, in the space, and in silence. The hockey arena, once a place of innocence, has become the theatre of broken memories. It turns into a mental labyrinth where Dan tries to find a lost part of himself. 2D animation, drawn frame by frame, allows us to sculpt every emotion and sensation. The use of a subjective point of view and a slow, fragmented editing reflects the process of introspection: difficult, painful, but necessary.”
The minimalist, sometimes violent and brutal, sound environment of the film supports this inner dive, amplifying the isolation and psychological tension of our character. “This film speaks about rage, shame, loneliness, but also about the courage it takes to face what eats us from the inside. It doesn’t offer a miracle solution, but it says that maybe, one day, it’s possible to start living differently.”
“What We Leave Behind” screens in Annecy’s main short competition.
13 years after her previous short “Dent de lait”, 2D animation specialist Julie Charette comes back to Annecy with her professional film debut “The Comet.” An adaptation of Sylvain Trudel’s short story “Two Faces,” Charette wanted to create a film that was both tender and harsh, where the bond between a brother and sister and the deep affection that unites them shine through.
In “The Comet,” eight-year-old Émile is enjoying the last of the warm summer evenings with his sister Françoise. While they are eagerly scanning the night sky for shooting stars, they are suddenly interrupted by a despicably cruel act.
“The film was computer-animated in 2D, then entirely hand-colored with colored pencils and oil pastels,” details Charette. “With this medium, I wanted to evoke a feeling of gentle nostalgia reminiscent of the picture books of my childhood, Through texture and a palette of saturated colors, I wanted to create a warm and vibrant atmosphere evoking the energy of childhood and thus accentuating the contrast with the harshness of the story.”
As this was her first professional film, every step was something new for the artist. “The biggest challenge was probably the enormous workload involved in producing 11 minutes of hand-colored animation on paper, and all the post-production work that entails. But the result is something unique and precious that delights me every time.”
Making its world premiere at Annecy, Cartoon Saloon‘s latest feature “Julián” is co-produced by Canadian company Aircraft Pictures, with servicing provided by Toronto’s Guru Studio. A successful follow-up to the great collaboration the Irish studio had with the Toronto-based company on “The Breadwinner”, to bring to life the story of wide-eyed Julián, who’s about to spend the summer with a grandmother he barely knows. Amazed to discover her treasure-trove apartment, Julián also discovers his own Caribbean heritage and the lively Brooklyn community he is surrounded by, in a loveable, benevolent family-friendly feature.
Louise Bagnall directs, making her feature debut with this colorful adaptation of Jessica Love’s picture book “Julian Is a Mermaid”, something she would have loved to have seen as a child who couldn’t always find the ‘right’ way to express herself.
Anthony Leo, CEO of Cartoon Saloon, emphasizes the collaboration of all partners on this projection. “Cartoon Saloon and our co-producers Aircraft Pictures, Melusine Studio and Sun Creature worked hard to put together a team that would lead to an authentic adaptation of this best-selling picture book, including the voices of co-director Guillaume Lorin, screenwriter Juliany Taveres, our Caribbean-Canadian voice cast and our composer among many others. It fills us with pride as a studio to lift up under-represented voices and tell bold stories.”
Key creative tasks carried out in Canada include an all Caribbean-Canadian voice cast lead by Knyght Darius Jack and Milcania Diaz-Rojas, the musical score by La-Nai Gabriel, a portion of key animation and compositing carried out by Guru Studio.
“Julián” screens in the Annecy Presents non-competitive section.
A tragic musical comedy about an ogress who lives alone in the woods until a young man determined to kill her arrives and fatally wins her heart, “Ogresse” is a singular project blending chants and animation in mysterious ways.
Cécile McLorin Salvant, the artist behind the original musical, teams up with Belgian director Lia Bertels on this Miyu feature, presented as WIP in Annecy as the film enters production. After a memorable 2022 Cartoon Movie pitch, this transatlantic co-production (France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, U.S.) is slated for 2028.
“We are delighted and excited to launch today the production of this extraordinary film which promises an unprecedented cinematic experience,” underlines Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Miyu founder and producer. “Working again with our colleagues at Embuscade Films, with whom we co-produced Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s ‘Death Does Not Exist’, their extensive knowledge of 2D animation will undoubtedly be a real asset to the film, as will the proximity of the studio to New York, where Cécile lives.”
Coming to Annecy, the team brings tests, images and footage from the film, a definite hightlight of this Annecy 2026 program, where Canada once again proves its status as a hub for international co-productions as well as an incubator for animated talents of tomorrow.
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