World Animation Competition 1

Adgwa-Ata

Deep inside the jungle, three young girls plunge into a surreal tribal world, where they must undertake a harsh rite of passage. Enter a world of razor-sharp nails, giant snake totems and a pulsating colourful energy. Yorkshire Premiere | Zsuzsanna Kreif | France, Hungary | 2026 | 15 mins | No Dialogue

Penguin

A man returns home from Antarctica to find his relationship shifting beneath his feet. As ice shelves fracture, the couple is forced to confront the ways they, too, have changed. In a world undergoing transformation, can their relationship survive? Kaspar Jancis | Estonia | 2026 | 15 mins | English

Ivar

Kept awake in the twilight hours, a restless woman fantasises about leaving her husband. This charming hand-and-rod puppet short offers a miserable dose of dark humour. Markus Tangre | Norway | 2025 | 4 mins | Norwegian

So He Grabbed the Knife

A young child is pushed to his limits by the toxic masculinity he experiences in his neighbourhood. In a split-second decision, something changes, and he must live with the consequences. Colourful frames reveal an unfolding violence that will stick with you. UK Premiere | Sam Kuwa | Japan | 2026 | 12 mins | Chinese

Hotel Oblique

A bewildered budgie checks in to a wellness hotel for anxious birds, only to find himself longing for the safety and routine of the cage he left behind. UK Premiere | Merlin Fluegel | Germany | 2026 | 7 mins | No Dialogue

To Kill a Velofahrer

Meet Franz, an idealistic and overzealous urban planner. His chaotic cycle path solutions are wreaking havoc on his city’s two-wheeling road users. This wonderfully DIY satirical short serves as a warning to keep an eye on the road - and each other. International Premiere | Helmi Korhonen, Ines Nungässer, Livio Frauendorf, Marvin Büeler | Switzerland | 2026 | 3 mins | No Dialogue

El Cuerpo de Cristo

Beautifully hand-embroidered frames soften the tale of a young woman navigating psychological distress. Through a compassionate lens, the film unravels the complexities around mental health stigma, traditional religious norms and intergenerational trauma. Bea Lema | Spain | 2025 | 13 mins | Spanish

Acid City

Emerging from a vast, empty ocean like a stunning spectre, Acid City is a surreal fever dream that blends real-life interviews with New Yorkers to explore human resilience against the stark reality of extreme weather. Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim | USA | 2026 | 13 mins | English

The End

In an airport at the end of the world, Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s newest stop-motion miniverse unpacks the intricacies of life, death and humanity from the inside of an anthropomorphic purgatory. UK Premiere | Niki Lindroth von Bahr | Denmark, France, Sweden | 2026 | 17 mins | French, Swedish

Content Guidance: Contains scenes with animated gore, depictions of psychological distress, trauma.