Animation Is Film is celebrating its ninth edition, taking place in Hollywood from Oct. 16-19, with the main program running at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres. And this year, the program includes buzzy independent features like “Iron Boy” and “Tangles,” alongside bigger, mainstream fare like a preview of Walt Disney Animation’s “Hexed” and a theatrical screening of Paramount’s “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” which unfortunately went directly to Paramount+ earlier this year.
Other highlights include the world premiere of the first two episodes of Dana Terrace’s new series “Knights of Guinevere,” from Glitch Studios, and Matt Braly presenting his new independently financed animated project “Clara and the Below,” a dark, action-packed reimagining of “The Nutcracker.”
“We’re thrilled to kick off another lively, animated weekend of the year’s very best with a special theatrical presentation of Dana Terrace’s ‘Knights of Guinevere,’” said Animation Is Film’s Director, Matt Kaszanek, in an official statement. “Dana is the artist behind one of the most beloved animated series of this decade. So naturally, it is with otherworldly excitement that we embrace her return to show-running with a big screen presentation of this visionary series.”
Animation Is Film is often considered an awards-season bellwether for animated features and shorts, with “Iron Boy,” a beautiful, painterly French film directed by Pixar vet Louis Clichy; Leah Nelson’s “Tangles,” which was the toast of Cannes earlier this year (and also played the Toronto International Film Festival); and Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon’s “Julian,” which also just played TIFF.
Other anticipated screenings include “Jim Queen,” the super gay Cannes and Annecy megahit; the North American premiere of Shingo Natsume’s “Ghost – End of Night”; and “The Violinist,” which won the 2026 Annecy Cristal, that festival’s highest honor.
Mickael Marin, CEO of CITIA added in a statement: “Continuing our commitment alongside Animation Is Film is a wonderful opportunity to extend, in Los Angeles, the international journey of the films and talents revealed and celebrated in Annecy. We are delighted to contribute to their encounter with new audiences and to see AIF pursue, with this new edition, its essential mission in support of animation that is ever more bold, creative and free.”
Animation Is Film’s lineup also includes studio presentations (like Disney’s for their upcoming Thanksgiving release “Hexed”), a conversation with the founders of Cartoon Saloon (on their 25th anniversary), a robust shorts program and a retrospective screening of Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 2000 cult classic “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.”
Animation Is Film’s lineup also includes studio presentations (like Disney’s for its upcoming Thanksgiving release “Hexed”), a conversation with the founders of Cartoon Saloon (on its 25th anniversary), a robust shorts program and a retrospective screening of Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 2000 cult classic “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.”
Industry panels include “Inside Animation,” in partnership with UTA, “a wide-ranging conversation on the state of animation, from the trends shaping the business to how new voices and projects are breaking through. The discussion will explore the evolving role of representation, what agents look for in emerging talent, and the opportunities defining the next generation of animation,” according to the official release.
