2026 Identity

Unveiling the 2026 poster, designed by Randall Finnerty.

"While searching for an image that captures the spirit of the Annecy Festival, I combined my love of eccentric animals engaging in human-like behaviour with a gathering of native birds from the Haute-Savoie region – a spiral pilgrimage that reflects the diversity of people bound by a common love for cinema and animation film."
Randall Finnerty

Biography

Randall Finnerty is a visual artist originally from Northern Ontario, Canada. He has lived in Montreal since 1992, where he worked for 24 years at the National Film Board of Canada as Technical Advisor on numerous award-winning animated short films. During that time, he maintained an active practice as an exhibiting artist.

Since his retirement from the NFB, he has concentrated solely on his own practice and is thrilled to be able to combine the two worlds that he loves – drawing and animation. He has exhibited his work in group and solo exhibitions across Canada and was included in a travelling group exhibition that toured various cities in Europe.

His work has appeared in a variety of art publications and is held in public and private collections including the Canada Council Art Bank.

The teaser of the Festival's trailer, produced by Aardman

This year, Aardman presents The Making of Annecy, a playful behind-the-scenes film celebrating the craft and creativity behind the Festival.
Blending live action with stop motion, the trailer follows the Aardman team as they build a handcrafted miniature of Annecy – from its iconic lake to the surrounding mountains – revealing the artistry behind each detail. Things don't quite go to plan, as Morph can't resist getting involved, with predictably chaotic consequences. 

About Aardman
Aardman is an employee-owned company, based in Bristol (UK) and co-founded in 1976 by Peter Lord and David Sproxton. An independent, multi-Academy Award and BAFTA award-winning studio, it produces feature films, series, advertising and interactive entertainment.
Its global productions are renowned for their uniquely entertaining and brilliantly crafted characters. The studio's work – which includes the creation of much-loved characters including Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Timmy Time and Morph – is often imitated, and yet the company continues to lead the animation field producing a rare brand of visually stunning, comedic content for cinema, broadcasters, digital platforms and live experiences around the world.
2026 sees Aardman celebrate its 50^th anniversary with a roster of events highlighting the craft and legacy of the studio, including the launch of a new movie, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom in the autumn.  

An artistic collaboration between Maison Daum and the Festival

As a place of creation, storytelling and imagination, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival celebrates artistic flair and creative excellence on a global scale every year. Such values naturally align with Daum's ethos.

It is in this spirit of bringing the arts together that Daum was invited to design an original trophy for the Festival. Maison Daum has created a crystal piece conceived as an object of distinction and a vessel for passing on tradition embodying both exquisite craftsmanship and symbolic significance of the material, evoking the profound emotions that arise from artistic creation.
Through this collaboration, Daum demonstrates its affinity to the realms of imagery, motion and storytelling. Just as animation film breathes life into graphic imagery, crystal glass paste captures light, transforms it and brings it alive, revealing unique nuances, textures and transparent effects.
This trophy continues the Maison's artistic collaborations, in which crystal becomes the catalyst for contemporary, sensitive expression. A convergence of two creative spheres, united by a passion for creation, excellence and shared emotion.

The opening credits by GOBELINS Paris

For nearly fifty years, students from GOBELINS Paris' animation program have created the short films screened at the opening of each session of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, perpetuating a long-standing tradition of the school.
For the 2026 edition, ten original films were made by students from the Character Animation and Animated Filmmaking Bachelor program, following several months of work, from writing to post-production.
As part of this year's edition, CITIA, the Festival's organising body, introduced a theme focused on a tribute to film genres, opening up a new field of exploration.
Within this framework, students developed a range of personal interpretations, exploring genres such as romantic comedy, Bollywood cinema, suspense, vintage Disney-style animation, and Japanese sentai, through diverse visual styles and narrative approaches.
Screened as opening films of the Festival, these works offer a rich and dynamic panorama of emerging creativity, showcasing the high standards and craftsmanship of the new generation of talent trained at GOBELINS Paris.

3D Character Animator, GOBELINS Paris

For the very first time, the 3D Character Animator course at GOBELINS Paris will hit the Bonlieu big screen! 

Based in Annecy at the Papeteries – Image Factory since its inception in 2010, and run in partnership with CITIA, this course covers the art and techniques of character animation. 

A series of 15-second clips will be shown just before each Festival film screening. They all feature Annecy's renowned rabbit who has been specially created and modelized for the occasion. 

Kudos to the third-year students who were the first to rise to the challenge!