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 27^th, 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

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 24^th to Sunday, September 28^th, 2025.

Source: Ottawa International Animation Festival press release

© 2025 Ottawa International Animation Festival

 

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