The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has announced the eight semifinalist projects selected for the 2026 edition of Pitch This!, its annual pitching competition presented in partnership with the Canada Media Fund (CMF).
Designed to spotlight emerging Canadian creators and help launch original animated series concepts, Pitch This! pairs selected teams with experienced industry mentors ahead of the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Over the coming weeks, the semifinalists will work closely with their mentors to refine their 10-minute pitches before presenting them live at The Animation Conference (TAC) on 23 September.
The eight semifinalist projects are tiny BIG adventure, created by GinoImagino (Gino Baldeon); King Baby Snail, created by Cheyenne Curtis; Connext, by Desirée Green; Billie & Beak, by Abe Hutton; Community Garden, by Ali Kellner and Noam Sussman; Mambo and Domingo, by Henedy Macias and Dieter Magallan; Dukiya, by Segun Samson; and Lost Soles, by Dez Sargeant-Blair.
This year’s mentor lineup includes director and co-showrunner Sam Chou; Boat Rocker Studios senior director of creative affairs, kids and family Vanessa Esteves; Rezolution Pictures development/executive producer of animation Brenda Tracy Nietupski; Guru Studio development executive Dave Padbury; and animation series director Suren Perera.
With support from House of Cool (Canadian boutique animation studio), all eight semifinalist teams will receive travel bursaries to attend both OIAF and Tac. Following the live presentations on 23 September, a jury will select two projects to advance to the Pitch This! finale on 24 September.
The winning project will receive a prize package that includes a US$5,000 cash award from the Canada Media Fund, a US$2,500 cash prize sponsored by Tarun Padmakumar and Joanna Fishbein, creators of Hare of High Park, a Harmony Premium annual licence and online training from Toon Boom Animation, US$1,000 in legal services from Edwards Creative Law, and two Tac AnimaPasses to attend OIAF 2027. The runner-up will receive a complimentary one-hour legal consultation from Edwards Creative Law.
