The 50th edition of the legendary Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the pulsing heart of animation worldwide, once again gathers the very best of the year’s short film production. Running from 21 to 27 June 2026, this milestone anniversary finds the gorgeous French town set above a glittering lake and ringed by soft peaks, a fairy-tale haven for animation lovers and industry professionals alike. With Artistic Director Marcel Jean rightly emphasising that “animation is film” for the naysayers and the festival now ranked alongside Cannes and Clermont-Ferrand as a FIAPF Category A event, the stakes—and the standards—have never been higher. With dozens of shorts spread across the Official selections alongside Perspectives, Off-Limits, Young Audiences, Midnight Shorts, and WTF, it’s hard not to stumble on striking, original stories told in visually arresting ways. Plenty inevitably gets left out, but here, we are thrilled to return to Annecy, and here are DN’s ten of the best the festival has showcased this year.
La robe peau – Joachim Hérissé
La robe peau (The Flesh Dress). Where else could it have screened but in the Midnight Shorts section? Watching a film this late at night, in a room full of animation lovers with their own secret rituals, creates a singular atmosphere. For anyone who has never had the pleasure of attending Annecy: during the festival’s opening titles, the audience chants specific words in a precise order, delivering what feels like a magic spell — the animation spell, we could say. Joachim Hérissé’s film is a poignant meditation on death, the fear of growing old, and the grief of losing a lifelong love. Through expressive stop-motion, it turns these deeply human emotions into a tactile, haunting experience that peaks with the gory particulars of a dress made of human flesh.
i have a – Rory Waudby-Tolley
Within Annecy’s wildest section, aptly titled WTF, you can find true hidden gems — and this is undoubtedly one of them. In the tradition of the best adult animation (Adult Swim’s output, for one), Rory Waudby-Tolley’s i have a is an unhinged exploration of existential dread. Built on a deceptively simple premise—listing everything the protagonist owns—the British director takes us on a whirlwind tour of a life trapped in bleak routine, cocaine and running among its features. What starts as an absurd inventory slowly becomes a profound reflection on death and, ultimately, on what such an existence is for. The animation is gritty, rough around the edges, and deliberately simple, which is exactly what the story needs: it had to look child-like to land an even harder punch to the stomach for the adults watching.
The Quinta’s Ghost – James A. Castillo
James A. Castillo’s short is remarkable for the way it builds its own visual identity out of a renowned artist’s life. Paying obvious homage to Goya, the influence never feels forced or derivative. Rather than imitate his paintings, The Quinta’s Ghost captures their spirit, conjuring a world of rich texture and atmosphere entirely its own. The film strikes a fine balance between beauty and terror, focusing on the demons the Spanish painter battled and making them relatable to us all. Every frame feels like a work of art without ever losing its unsettling emotional charge. If I had to single out one unforgettable image, it would be the bull dripping with blood—a vision that lingers long after the film ends.
Virgin Fandango – Marcy Page
Marcy Page’s film pays tribute to a great number of extraordinary women, past and present, who have distinguished themselves across the arts, philosophy, science, and politics. Animated in a technique inspired by traditional Portuguese azulejos, Virgin Fandango immerses you in a visual world that genuinely feels unlike anything else. It marries craft and message to rare effect: a gorgeously realised piece built around the strength of women and the recognition they are owed. Striking, distinctive and original in equal measure, it’s as captivating as it is memorable.
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Cosmonauts – Leo Černic
Probably one of the most visually satisfying shorts on this list. The soft pinks and reds of its cosmically sexual world make for one of those rare experiences where you feel genuinely transported into the fiction—and almost nostalgic once you have to leave. Cosmonauts threads together the parallel stories of three lonely characters: Delfino, a naive romantic in BDSM leather; Rita, an overlooked older cleaner; and Zenf, a cynical scientist. They cross paths aboard the Pompelmo Express, an intergalactic singles cruise devoted to sex and pleasure. Since its launch at Berlinale, Leo Černic’s film has continued its festival run, and you’d hope everyone gets a slice of this silly intergalactic seduction.
Pigeon Businessman – Will Blank
A day in the life of a serious businessman who also happens to be an anthropomorphic pigeon, that’s Pigeon Businessman in a nutshell, and how could you not love it? In just a few minutes, and with deceptively simple, lovely animation, it lands its point loud and clear. The corporate world can be brutal, and married life can turn dull; nothing new there, but the way American director Will Blank tells it is memorable enough to suggest the start of a promising series. We want to know more about the unforgettable Pigeon Businessman.
La fille de l’eau – Sandra Desmazières
Having won the César 2026 for Best Animated Short Film, La fille de l’eau has already travelled to more than 40 international festivals — and it’s not hard to see why. Telling a story without a streamlined plot is never easy, yet Sandra Desmazières walks a delicate line between emotion and narrative. It’s a story of women, made by a woman, and the sincere feeling running through every frame is unmistakable. What is life like when you spend all of it freediving? The premise, of course, is ripe with metaphor.
Two Ice Creams Please – Jasmine Elsen
Two Ice Creams Please has one of the best opening sequences I’ve seen in a short film: someone scooping from a bowl of ice cream, the title written across it. You’d expect something idyllic to follow — the reality is anything but. Once the two protagonists get lost in the jungle, it’s full-throttle chaos: Apocalypse Now-style helicopters, tropical downpours and wild animals conjure a deep, unruly wilderness. An unmissable adventure, and Jasmine Elsen is a name we hope to see again soon.
When the Sea was Calm – Mamuka Tkeshelashvili
Such poetry here. Set on the eve of the war in Sokhumi in 1992, When the Sea Was Calm follows a 12-year-old boy through his first love. When violence forces the girl to flee, his childhood ends abruptly; decades later, he returns to the ruined city in search of a summer that can never be recovered. This hand-crafted Georgian gem is intimate and heartbreaking, taking hold of your heart with ease. The war scenes are brilliantly staged and painful to watch. Technically, Mamuka Tkeshelashvili’s short is a marvel: the beautiful cut-outs and puppets are paired with an uncannily realistic handheld feel, POV shots and quick zooms cut at a breathless pace, until you forget you’re watching stop-motion at all.
Dieu est Timide – Jocelyn Charles
This has to be the most mysterious short on the list—already flagged by another DN writer in the 2025 BFI London Best of Fest, though it’s worth more detail here. Jocelyn Charles knows how to build suspense and conjure a visually striking world, where fear is heightened by disturbing colour combinations and the deliberately harsh lines of his design. With a clear fascination for Japanese animation, Dieu est Timide (God is Shy) follows young Ariel and Paul as they pass the time on a train, sketching their deepest fears. The journey takes an unexpected turn when the middle-aged Gilda takes the seat beside them. Why does she look exactly like one of their drawings? What is she hiding? You’ll want to find out.
Some more unmissable films like these can be found in our Best of Fest collections
