‘ChaO,’ ‘Death Does Not Exist,’ and ‘Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake,’ each an award winner at this summer’s Annecy Festival, lead the set of films in competition; festival runs September 24-28.
Six feature films will compete at this year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), a selection that includes three award winning films from this summer’s Annecy 2025 festival. All six films will compete for the Grand Prize for Feature Animation, to be determined by a distinguished jury: Chris Lavis (Canada), Dr. Magdalena Zira (Cyprus) and Honami Yano (Japan).
The OIAF 2025 Features Competition includes:
- ChaO (Yasuhiro Aoki, Japan)
- Decorado (Alberto Vázquez, Spain)
- Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake (L'Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible) (Irene Iborra, Spain/France/Belgium/Switzerland)
- The Great History of Western Philosophy (La gran historia de la filosofía occidental) (Aria Covamonas, Mexico)
- Death Does Not Exist (La mort n'existe pas) (Félix Dufour-Laperrière, Canada)
- Tales from the Magic Garden (Pohádky po babičce) (David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Slovenia/France)
“This year’s Official Competition is a celebration of just how far animated features have come,” says Chris Robinson, the Festival’s Artistic Director. “From drawings and collage to archival footage, stop-motion puppets to digital cut-outs, these films prove there’s no technique too bold for a feature-length canvas. At OIAF, we’ve always championed experimentation, and it’s thrilling to see stories that explore philosophy, politics, poverty, creativity, protest and resilience in unique, inventive ways—refreshingly standing apart from the endless formulaic studio features churned out each season.”
Features in competition includes recent standouts from the international animation scene, including several films honored at the Annecy 2025. Among them is ChaO, the highly anticipated debut feature from Aoki and STUDIO4ºC, which took home the Jury Award at Annecy. Canada’s own La mort n'existe pas (Death Does Not Exist), the latest from acclaimed Québec animator Dufour-Laperrière (Archipel, Ville Neuve), was recognized for its original soundtrack. Meanwhile, L'Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible (Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake), adapted from Maité Carranza’s celebrated graphic novel La Vie est un film, received the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution.
The competition also features Pohádky po babičce (Tales from the Magic Garden), a 3D stop-motion puppet anthology based on Arnošt Goldflam’s beloved collection of stories, Of Unwanted Things and People. Premiering at Berlinale 2025, this international co-production was eight years in the making and brings together directors from across Central Europe.
Alberto Vázquez’s 2D twisted dark comedy, Decorado, playfully elaborates upon the self-referential ideas in his 2016 short of the same name.
Rounding out the selection is La gran historia de la filosofía occidental (The Great History of Western Philosophy), the debut feature from Covamonas. Known for her Dadaist collage shorts (Socrates’ Adventures in the Underground, Hideouser and Hideouser, and I Can’t Go on Like This), Covamonas crafts a bold, intricate narrative from public domain footage and audio, featuring figures ranging from Socrates to Mickey Mouse. The film premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival earlier this year.
The Grand Prize winner for Best Animated Feature will be announced live at the OIAF Awards Ceremony on September 27, 2025, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Visit the festival website for additional information.
Source: OIAF 2025
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
