The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is coming to SIGGRAPH 2026 in Los Angeles, with Eloi Champagne, Head of Technical Direction and Production Technology, and Jimmy Fournier, Chief Technology Officer, representing the organization at the conference, which runs from July 19 to 23.

A leading creative innovator in animation and digital creation, the NFB will attend the conference to explore new approaches in visual storytelling and production technologies, joining global animation, visual-effects and research communities in conversations around the future of digital storytelling.

Champagne will lead Gaussian Splatting for Animation: Emerging Workflows and Hybrid Pipelines, a Birds of a Feather discussion focused on Gaussian Splatting for animation. The technique captures and displays environments from 2D photos and video, opening new possibilities for animation and visual-production workflows.

The session will include examples from current works in progress at the NFB's Animation and French Documentary units, along with technical explorations by the NFB Technical Direction team. External research collaborators include the NVIDIA Spatial Intelligence Lab and the Dynamic Graphics Project lab at the University of Toronto.

The Birds of a Feather session is scheduled for Wednesday, July 22, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. PDT in Room 510. Technical directors, animators, researchers and tool developers are invited to discuss how Gaussian-based representations can integrate into production pipelines, from acquisition and layout to lighting, editing and delivery. Seating is limited.

Industry professionals attending SIGGRAPH 2026 are also invited to meet with Fournier and Champagne during the conference to explore ideas and potential partnership opportunities.

A world-class creative hub, the NFB brings together filmmakers, artists and technologists to explore new forms of audiovisual storytelling that expand artistic possibilities and enrich audience experiences. Its work has received thousands of awards, including the 2025 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski's The Girl Who Cried Pearls.

Source: The National Film Board of Canada