French Films Sweep Top Prizes at Animation Is Film Festival

The 8th annual Animation Is Film Festival, held in Los Angeles last month, celebrated the best of international animated cinema. The festival, which was created in 2017 to challenge the perception of animation as a lesser art form, announced its award winners this week.

The French animated film "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain," directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize. Another French film, "Arco" by Ugo Bienvenu, received the Audience Award. The Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize, renamed this year to honor a late publicist, went to the Spanish animated film "Decorado" from director Alberto Vázquez.

In an interview, festival director Matt Kaszanek spoke about the festival's mission to celebrate animation as a serious art form, not just a "lesser form of cinema." He noted that the festival has become a bellwether for the Animated Feature and Animated Shorts categories at major awards shows, with most of the nominees playing at the festival each year.

The 2025 Animation Is Film Festival featured a diverse lineup of international animated films, including the opening night selection "Scarlet" and the centerpiece film "Arco." Kaszanek emphasized the festival's goal of showcasing the best of global animated cinema to challenge outdated perceptions of the medium.