OTTAWA, Canada – Kohei Kadowaki we are aliens and Joe Hsieh praying mantis took home the top prizes at the 50th Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), which announced its 2026 winners on Saturday.
Written and directed by Kadowaki, we are aliens won the Grand Prix for Animated Film after its premiere earlier this year at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. The film takes an episodic approach to everyday life, finding drama, comedy and unexpected connections in seemingly ordinary moments. The OIAF feature film jury praised its ability to capture “the incredible drama and absurdity of life,” highlighting its inventive staging, shifting points of view and animation.
The feature film jury also awarded two honorable mentions. Chinese filmmaker Sun Xun Magic Atlas He was recognized for his meticulous woodcut animation and ink painting, as well as his politically charged narrative. The jury called it a “political fable” and praised Sun’s willingness “to criticize dictatorship and other forms of authoritarian power.” Leah Nelson TanglesMeanwhile, she was recognized for exploring love, loss, and lasting personal connections.
Taiwanese filmmaker Hsieh won the Animated Short Film Grand Prix with praying mantisa dark exploration of maternal instinct told through sharp metaphorical images and bursts of violence. The jury highlighted the film’s “fully realized internal logic” and “powerful and purposeful touches of violence.” OIAF victory also qualifies praying mantis for consideration in the animated short category at the Academy Awards.
The biggest haul of the festival, however, went to Canadian animator Laurence Thérien. His claymation short film ball face became the first film in OIAF history to win four awards in a single year, taking home the Audience Award, the Hélène Tanguay Award for Humor, the Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation, and the Canadian Student Award.
The film, about the shame and anxiety of trying to fit in, uses the physical malleability of clay as part of its narrative. in the concession ball face At the Canadian Student Award, the jury praised the film for “capturing the absurdity and anxiety of masking, adapting and trying to fit in,” as its protagonist literally transforms to belong.
ball face has had a good year on the festival circuit. The Royal College of Art film also won the Cristal for Graduation Film at Annecy in June.
Other notable winners included Honami Yano. Differentnamed Best Animated Short Film; Julie Charette The cometwinner of the Canada Media Fund Award for Best Canadian Animation; and swimming for adults The elephantwhich spearheaded the Platform Animation Contest.
Don Hertzfeldt also added another honor to paper trailfrom the growing collection, winning the OIAF Best Sound Design award. The jury celebrated the film’s “claustrophobic symphony of scrapes, squeaks, scrapes and scrapes.” paper trail It previously won the Cristal for Short Film at Annecy in June.
Winners of the OIAF 2026 competition
Great prizes
- Animated Short Film Grand Prize: praying mantisJoe Hsieh
- Grand Prize for Animated Feature Film: we are aliensKohei Kadowaki
- Honorable Mention: Magic AtlasSun Xun
- Honorable Mention: TanglesLeah Nelson
Public Award
- Winner: ball faceLaurence Thérien
Canadian animation
- Canada Media Fund Award for Best Canadian Animation: The cometJulie Charette
- Honorable Mention: wild kissBahji Jaroudi
- Honorable Mention: knowing lookDylan Glynn
- Hélène Tanguay Humor Award: ball faceLaurence Thérien
Animated short contest
- Best animated short: DifferentHonami Yano
- Best Commissioned Animation: Juana Molina “Desinhumano,” Dante Zaballa
- Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation: ball faceLaurence Thérien
- Canadian Student Award: ball faceLaurence Thérien
- Honorable Mention: mortal laceLucas Piperías
- Honorable Mention: Hell ExpoA. John Yates
Audience contests
- Animation for adolescent audiences over 13 years old: With blue flavorJett Ulysses
- Honorable Mention: The cometJulie Charette
- Animation for young audiences 7+: candy cavitiesTomoki Misato
- Honorable Mention: Bats and bugsLena von Döhren
Platform animation contest
- Winner: Swimming for adults The elephantPendleton Ward, Rebecca Sugar, Ian Jones-Quartey, Patrick McHale, Mike L. Mayfield, Humberto Irigoyen, Remus Buznea and Kyriaki Kyriakou
craft awards
- Best script: up-downHenri Veermae
- Animation Guild Craft Award for Best Design: When the sea was calmMamuka Tkeshelashvili
- XPPen Craft Award for Best Animation Technique: Daughters of the late colonelElizabeth Hobbs
- Best sound design: paper trailDon Hertzfeldt
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- OIAF Team Election: The big idiotRichard Condie
- Audience Award: Meneath: the hidden island of ethicsTerril Calder