Music, memories, monsters and mice ruled Annecy Festival 2026 as the world’s premier animation festival unveiled its much-awaited winners during the closing ceremony on 27 June. From emotionally charged feature films and daring shorts to immersive experiences and television productions, this year’s honours celebrated bold storytelling, artistic innovation and fresh creative voices from across the globe.
The amazing works that managed to bag awards are:
Feature films
Cristal for a feature film– The Violinist, Directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García
A Spanish journalist investigating an aging violin virtuoso uncovers a forgotten story of friendship, love and war in 1930s Singapore, where music binds two childhood friends before conflict tears them apart.
Jury Prize– The Corset, Directed by Louis Clichy
Set in rural France, the coming-of-age drama follows 10-year-old Christophe, whose physical condition forces him to wear a corset. As he discovers music and friendship through Clara, he begins to find confidence and purpose.
Grand Prix Contrechamp– Blaise, Directed by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue
The Sauvage family longs to be loved while struggling with rejection, until introverted teenager Blaise is swept into a radical movement that threatens to change everything.
Contrechamp Jury Prize– A New Dawn, Directed by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya
Before an abandoned factory is demolished, young Keitaro hopes to set off his late father’s fireworks one last time, searching for closure in a landscape transformed by industrial change.
Gan Foundation Award for distribution– The Corset, Directed by Louis Clichy
Set in rural France, the coming-of-age drama follows 10-year-old Christophe, whose physical condition forces him to wear a corset. As he discovers music and friendship through Clara, he begins to find confidence and purpose.
Audience Award for a feature film– The Corset, Directed by Louis Clichy
Set in rural France, the coming-of-age drama follows 10-year-old Christophe, whose physical condition forces him to wear a corset. As he discovers music and friendship through Clara, he begins to find confidence and purpose.
Paul Grimault Prize– Decorado,Directed by Alberto Vázquez
An unemployed mouse convinced the world around him is fake rebels against a corporation controlling every aspect of life in this surreal existential satire.
Short films
Cristal for a short film – Paper Trail (Written Record), Directed by Don Hertzfeldt
A life unfolds entirely on sheets of paper in Hertzfeldt’s signature minimalist and deeply reflective style.
Jury Prize– God is Shy, Directed by Jocelyn Charles
What begins as an innocent drawing game aboard a train slowly transforms into an unsettling meditation on fear when a mysterious passenger joins two young travellers.
Audience Award for a short film– God is Shy, Directed by Jocelyn Charles
What begins as an innocent drawing game aboard a train slowly transforms into an unsettling meditation on fear when a mysterious passenger joins two young travellers.
Off-Limits Film Award– Core Dump, Directed by Alona Rodeh
A speculative swarm of drones scavenges electronic waste, exploring the intersection of climate fiction, war and the politics of global waste.
Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for the first work– Please, Directed by Anna Mantzaris
Lonely city dwellers searching for affection stumble into awkward, funny and deeply human encounters.
Alexeïeff-Parker Prize– Stomach Peels, Directed by Étienne Bonnet
A mysterious skin condition leads to an introspective journey, questioning whether emotional pain can manifest physically.
Television and commissioned films
Crystal for a TV production– The Great Escape, Directed by Rémi Durin
A frightened schoolgirl escapes stage fright through a magical cloud kingdom before finding the courage to perform.
Cristal for a commissioned film– Unloved, Directed by Illogic Studio, Victor Caire, Lucas Navarro and Théophile Dufresne
Blending live action with animation, the film follows a lonely wolf whose discovery of healthy food changes how the world sees him.
Jury Prize for a TV series– Takopi’s Original Sin, Directed by Shinya Iino
A cheerful alien arrives on Earth determined to spread happiness, only to discover that healing emotional wounds is far from simple.
Jury Prize for a TV special– The Song of Storms, Directed by Caroline Attia
A mysterious thunderstorm causes strange transformations among mountain animals, drawing a newcomer into an extraordinary mystery.
Jury Prize for a commissioned film– Eco Beat, Directed by Eva Bienert and Max Mörtl
Organic waste becomes an unlikely musical ensemble in a lively celebration of composting and sustainability.
Audience Award for a TV production– The Groos, Directed by David Mirailles
The everyday adventures of two best friends become humorous celebrations of companionship and love.
Graduation films
Cristal Award for a graduation film– Ball Face, Directed by Laurence Thérien
An anxious schoolchild survives a chaotic sports lesson in the most unexpected way, discovering resilience through failure.
Jury Prize– The Last Embers, Directed by Léa Pulini
An isolated inn, a fierce storm and the arrival of a mysterious traveller unravel buried emotions across generations.
Lotte Reiniger Prize– Křehce, Directed by Jamaica Kindlová
Through charcoal animation and haunting sound, the film captures childhood fear inspired by real-life experiences.
Immersive works
Crystal for best immersive work– A Long Goodbye, Directed by Kate Voet and Victor Maes
An experience places audiences inside the world of a 72-year-old pianist living with dementia.
Special awards
Among the festival’s additional honours, God is Shy received the Sacem Award for Original Music (short film), while The Violinist won the Sacem Award for Original Music (feature film). Gabriel Osorio’s Brave Cat claimed the Annecy Presents Audience Award, Piccolo Piccolo won the Canal+ Junior Jury Prize, and Towards the Forest received the Young Audience Award.
The André Martin Prize went to Sundruð, the Arte Prize to Uka-uka, the Festivals Connexion Award to Voooooo—Peeeeee—, the Vimeo Staff Pick Award to Creation, the Warner Bros. Animation Award to The 12 Inch Pianist, the Midnight Shorts Award to Eclosión, the Annecy City Prize to Because Today Is Saturday, while You Are Not Part of the Cake won the Titmouse WTF Award, with I Have a received jury mention Titmouse WTF.
From intimate tales of memory and belonging to visually daring experiments and boundary-pushing animation, Annecy Festival 2026 once again proved that the future of animation is as fearless as it is imaginative. The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and its Market will return from 13 to 19 June 2027, with its spotlight on Colombian animation.
