Koji Yamamura's 'Haru no Umi,' More Japanese Short Films Compete at 2026 Annecy

Haru no UmiImage via Annecy's website

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival listed on its website the directors and films competing in its Short Films and Graduation Films categories. The updated films from Japan in each category include:

• Short Films Official: Kōji Yamamura's "Haru no Umi" ("The Spring Sea")
• Perspectives: Yakata Kanata's "Bucketman" and Ryotaro Miyajima's "Rest"
• Midnight Shorts: Seishirō Nagaya's "A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin' in the Schoolyard" from Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 and Ryoji Yamada's Builder
• Graduation Films: Yiling Wang's "Slap" (with music by Daisuke Ishikawa)

The festival will also screen the Candy Caries, Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, Takopi's Original Sin, and the first episode of the Sparks of Tomorrow anime in competition in the TV Films category. The festival will screen Yini Guo's "Plankton α" and Sam Kuwa's "So He Grabbed the Knife" ("Soshite Knife wo Te ni Shita") in the Graduation Films category. The opening credits of animated series of CAPCOM's Devil May Cry will screen in the Commissioned Films category.

The first two episodes of The Ghost in the Shell (Kōkaku Kidōtai THE GHOST IN THE SHELL), Science SARU's new The Ghost in the Shell television anime series, will have their global premiere as a Screening Event at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. The event is titled "Dive into "THE GHOST IN THE SHELL."

Yasuhiro Aoki and Studio 4°C's anime feature film ChaO won the Jury Prize at last year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Dandelion's Odyssey — a French/Belgian feature film from director Momoko Seto and the studios Miyu Productions, ecce films, and Umedia — received the Paul Grimault Award (formerly known as Jury Special Mention). Ryo Orikasa and the Yanai Initiative's "The Graffiti" short earned the Off-Limits Award. Arco, the first feature from French director Ugo Bienvenu and producer Natalie Portman, won the top Cristal Award.

Kōji Yamamura's Ikuta no Kita anime film won the Contrechamp award at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival will be held in Annecy, France from June 21-27.

Source: Annecy's website (link 2), Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)