Ottawa International Animation Festival
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OIAF Unveils 72 nominees from record-breaking global entry pool

After receiving a record 2,850 entries from around the world, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has selected 72 nominees that will compete in the event. The award winners will be announced at a special ceremony taking place on Saturday, September 27th, 2025, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario.

Entries are evaluated under five categories: Commissioned Animation, Narrative Short Animation, Non-Narrative Short Animation, Student Animation, and Canadian Student Animation. Below are the nominees selected.

Commissioned Animation Competition

  • 18th ZubrOFFka International Short Film Festival ‘Signal Film’ – director Sander Joon, Estonia/Poland
  • 37 Filmfest Dresden 2025 Trailer – director Petra Stipetić, Germany
  • Across My Jaw – directors Isabelle Aspin and Brian Smee, United States
  • Allied ABLE – directors Christopher Rutledge and Dan Hanafin, United States
  • Avec pas d’casque ‘Cardinal’ – director Joël Vaudreuil, Canada
  • Camel Power Club ‘Dont Make It a Song’ – director Stefano Bertelli, Italy
  • CNESST ‘Qu’à un fil’ (CNESST ‘Hanging By A Thread’) – director Dale Hayward, Canada
  • Daftar Yaddasht (Notebook) – directors Aghil Hosseinian and Sogol Sanago, Iran
  • Desi Oon – director Suresh Eriyat, India
  • Join – director Brennan Bova, Canada
  • Naive New Beaters ft. Star Feminine Band ‘Ye Kou Si Kuo’ – director Lola Lefèvre, France
  • Nap Eyes ‘Dark Mystery Enigma Bird’ – director Jordan Minkoff, Canada
  • Natlan Impressions Trailer ‘Blaze to Natlan’ – directors Thomas Schmid and Junyi Xiao, United States

Narrative Short Animation

  • Basketball Explorer Presents: The Shot Doctor – director Keith Pakiz, United States
  • Bread Will Walk – director Alex Boya, Canada
  • Dark Globe – director Donato Sansone, Italy/France
  • Dollhouse Elephant – director Jenny Jokela, Finland
  • Existential Greg – director Will Anderson, United Kingdom
  • I Beg Your Pardon – director John W. Lustig, United States
  • ICan’t – director Renato Klieger Gennari, Brazil
  • Il burattino e la balena – director Roberto Catani, France/Italy
  • Kiievi Tort (Kyiv Cake) – director Mykyta Lyskov, Estonia/Ukraine
  • La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles (The Girl Who Cried Pearls) – directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, Canada
  • La vie avec un idiot (Life With an Idiot) – director Theodore Ushev, France
  • Luna Rossa – directors Priit Pärn and Olga Pärn, Estonia/France
  • Off-Time – director Nata Metlukh, United States/Japan/Ukraine
  • Paradaïz – director Matea Radic, Canada
  • Paul Y Sus Amigos (Paul and His Friends) – director Rafael Esteban Trujillo, Spain/United States
  • Pobre Marciano (Poor Marciano) – director Alex Rey, Spain
  • Quota – directors Job, Joris & Marieke, Netherlands
  • Rakugaki (The Graffiti) – director Ryo Orikasa, Japan
  • S The Wolf – director Sameh Alaa, France
  • Shadows – director Rand Beiruty, France/Jordan
  • Soixante-sept millisecondes (Sixty-Seven Milliseconds) – director fleuryfontaine, France
  • 啤酒的滋味 (A Taste of Beer) – director Li Xie, China

Non-Narrative Animation Competition

  • Body Burden – director Ben Fox, United Kingdom
  • Dédé (Ancestor) – director Yasmine Djedje-Fisher-Azoume, United Kingdom
  • Evacuations – director Lilli Carré, United States
  • Fusion – director Richard Reeves, Canada
  • Green Lung – director Simon Hamlyn, United Kingdom
  • How – director Marko Mestrovic, Croatia
  • States of Matter – director Marvin Hauck, Netherlands
  • The Weaver – director Yiorgos Tsangaris, Cyprus
  • Долго доаѓање на огнот (The Long Coming of the Fire) – director Zharko Ivanov, North Macedonia
  • 普通の生活 (Ordinary Life) – director Yoriko Mizushiri, France/Japan

Student Animation Competition

  • Anklebones – director Nicole Altan, United States
  • Mother’s Child – director Naomi Noir, Netherlands
  • Poppy Flowers – director Evridiki Papaiakovou, Estonia
  • The 12 Inch Pianist – director Lucas Ansel, United States
  • Two Point Five Stars – directors Sina Lerf, Dario Marti, and Dario Boger, Switzerland
  • Vogelleben (Bird Life) – director Lukas Wind, Estonia
  • გაბნეული შუქები (Lights, Haze) – director Tata Managadze, Belgium/Finland/Georgia/Portugal
  • マミ子のウン子 (Mamiko’s Poop) – director Yasuteru Ohno, Japan

Canadian Student Competition

  • 3 x 2³ – director Justin Lemay, Canada
  • Blindfold – director Peter De Souza-Samanek, Canada
  • Bouteille Fusée (Bottle Rocket) – director Yann Le Bihan, Canada
  • Bugsick – director Venya Aggarwal, Canada
  • February 3rd, 2023 – director Kseniia Inchakova, Canada
  • Hogar – director Olly Norambuena, Canada
  • lullaby for a deathdream – director Charlie Galea McClure, Canada
  • Monarchomania – director Ariel Rutherford
  • Monkey Bar – director Mya Van Dyk, Canada
  • Music in the Pocket – director Veronika Kostyuk, Canada
  • Nos fleurs en perles – director Maxime Kornachuk, Canada
  • Rudy Boyles’ Spore-nographic Journey – director Mitchell Green, Canada
  • Stalin’s Toast – director Alexandra Ouchev, Canada
  • Stride & Shine! – director Xinyi Tian, Canada
  • The Clown Film – director Silvan Ghahri, Canada
  • Une nuit debout (Awaken Night) – director Julie-Ann Déry, Canada
  • Uproar – director Camille Vandelac, Canada
  • When the Moon Sings – director Jesu Medina, Canada
Ottawa International Animation Festival 2025
Poster for the 2025 festival, illustrated by Torill Kove. Image courtesy of Ottawa International Animation Festival.

An annual tradition since 1978, the Ottawa International Animation Festival is a global leader in celebrating the medium through screenings, exhibits and workshops. This year, the festival runs from Wednesday, September 24th to Sunday, September 28th, 2025.

Source: Ottawa International Animation Festival press release

© 2025 Ottawa International Animation Festival

 

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