The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), one of the world's four major animation festivals and the largest in North America, has announced the program for its 2026 edition, running September 17–21.
And even though the festival is still months away, the early announcements are already drawing attention from the global animation community.
By the Numbers
This year's competition received a record 3,100 submissions from 88 countries, with the curators ultimately selecting 160 films for the official program. Of those, 14 are world premieres and another 22 are international premieres. Ottawa audiences will see them before anywhere else outside their countries of origin.
Canadian Animation Retrospective
The festival's special programming this year centres on a retrospective of Canadian animation from the 1970s and 80s, a period when the National Film Board of Canada was producing some of the most formally inventive animated films ever made. Directors like Norman McLaren, Caroline Leaf, and Frédéric Back were doing things with the medium that no one else in the world was attempting.
The retrospective screens rare archival prints alongside restored digital versions, with a panel discussion featuring directors who worked alongside the NFB pioneers.
Industry Forum
New this year is a two-day industry forum running alongside the festival, open to animation professionals and students. Sessions cover everything from AI's impact on character animation to the economics of short-film financing in Canada.
Tickets and Passes
The OIAF runs primarily at Arts Court and the ByTowne Cinema on Rideau Street. Individual screening tickets go on sale in July; all-access industry passes are available now at animationfestival.ca.
For Ottawa, hosting this festival is a source of genuine civic pride, a reminder that the city has been at the centre of world animation culture for 50 years.
Source: Google News Ottawa Arts / RSS
