On Saturday evening, the 24th Sommets du cinéma d’animation came to a close with its highly anticipated awards ceremony. The exceptionally strong competition at this year’s festival showcased the immense national talent and the vitality of our animation industry. The ceremony also included the presentation of the 2026 René-Jodoin Award to filmmaker Donald McWilliams. The 2026 festival was a smashing success, with the audience—as enthusiastic and passionate as ever—in full attendance!

OFFICIAL COMPETITION
The jury of the Official Competition, tasked with selecting the winners of six awards, was composed of filmmaker and screenwriter Loïc Darses, filmmaker Andrea Dorfman, visual artist Randall Finnerty, filmmaker, screenwriter, and actress, Micheline Lanctôt, and Isabelle Vanini, General Delegate of the French Association of Animated Film.

GUY-L.-COTÉ AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FILM
The award includes a $2,000 grant provided by Ms. Nancy Coté and the Cinémathèque québécoise.

An exceptional film whose intelligence and originality of design captivated us. We wish to highlight the sophistication of the direction, a sometimes biting humor coupled with a keen eye for evocative detail. This film depicts the strange and unsettling inner world of an exile returning to the traces of a past marked by the scars of war - a woman who must reconcile with the child she once was.

PARADAÏZ by Matea Radic
Production: Jelena Popović, National Film Board of Canada
Distribution: National Film Board of Canada

MENTION FOR BEST ANIMATED FILM
The jury wished to mention an engaging coming of age that celebrates the hilariousness and awkwardness of adolescence in a self deprecating and playful way with a gorgeous palette.

ULTRA FORTE by Catherine Lepage
Production: Christine Noël, National Film Board of Canada
Distribution: National Film Board of Canada

RAOUL-BARRÉ AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN STUDENT FILM
The award includes a $2,000 grant provided by the Raoul-Barré Foundation.

A mature film that takes the audience on a journey between dreams and memories. Through its artistic qualities and remarkable exploration of animation techniques, including working with film, the filmmaker has created a captivating visual poem that invites us to meditate on the passage of time.

LULLABY FOR A DEATHDREAM by Charlie Galea McClure
Concordia University – Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema

STUDENT COMPETITION MENTION
The jury wished to mention a film that captures the continuous transformation of a city looking at it through an inventive animation lens.

DES GENS VIVENT ICI by Gabrielle Côté
Université du Québec à Montréal – École des médias
Production: Léa April
Distribution: La bande Sonimage

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE — ÉCOLE NAD-UQAC
The prize includes a $1,000 grant awarded by École NAD-UQAC from among the professional films in the official competition.

The Special Jury Prize is awarded to a film that, in the current geopolitical context, revisits the lasting impact of war. It accompanies a vulnerable conversation about trauma between two brothers. The use of animation in this documentary allows for a fragmented exploration of the character's memories, challenging preconceived notions about the true causes of trauma.

LA TÊTE EN CHAMP DE BATAILLE by Anaë Bilodeau and Louis-Pierre Cossette
Production: Isabelle Phaneuf-Cyr, FIZ Studio
Distribution: La Distributrice de films

BEST CHARACTER
The award for best character goes to a reluctant but ballsy father whose expressive eyes stand out against a manly mane, charming us. His deep, smooth voice adopts an offbeat tone as he tries to convince himself to abandon the worst aspects of masculinity. The jury is unlikely to forget the design of this stop-motion animated puppet.

« The bison » in BLESSED by Birute Sodeikaite
Production: Birute Sodeikaite

BEST MUSIC VIDEO
The award for best music video is given to a film whose inventive simplicity of approach serves up a ballad and pays tribute to the multi-instrumentalist side of the animator as well as to the craftsmanship of the stop-motion.

AVEC PAS D'CASQUE – CARDINAL by Joël Vaudreuil

BEST EDUCATIONAL OR COMMISSIONED FILM
The award for best commissioned film goes to an animated documentary drawn in a sketchbook. A wonderfully fresh film that invites the audience to participate in the story of three names that describe three lives in three different cultures.

RACONTE-MOI TON PRÉNOM by Cantiane Breton
Production et distribution: SPIRA

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD — ROYAL PHOTO
The award includes a $1,500 equipment rental services provided by Royal Photo.

ULTRA FORTE by Catherine Lepage
Production: Christine Noël, National Film Board of Canada
Distribution: National Film Board of Canada

PITCHS CONTEST
Producer Marc Bertrand, filmmaker Rachel Samson, and Léa-Marie Montreuil, head of communications and distribution for feature films at h264, had the difficult task of selecting the winning pitch for this seventh edition of the contest. The Sommets Pitches Contest is presented in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, La Caisse Desjardins de la Culture (a $1,000 cash prize), h264 (a prize worth $1,500 in distribution and promotion consulting services), Royal Photo (a prize worth $1,500 in equipment rental services), and Studio Unagi (mentorship for a participant with a self-produced project, as part of its Wabi-Sabi artist residency).

The 2026 jury selected David Martineau Lachance for LES NOUVEAUX VÊTEMENTS, “a project featuring an unexpected visit, a cast of colorful characters, and an engaging and humorous narrative. Its message delighted the jury with its subtlety and relevance. This project is imbued with humor and empathy.”

MENTION OF THE PITCHS CONTEST
Élodie Roy for HOMOPHOQUES

THE YOUNG JURY
Zelia Aubé, 6 yo, Joseph Bilodeau, 6 yo, Frédérique Bonenfant, 8 yo and Gabriel Girard, 7 yo, formed the 2026 Young Jury. These film buffs-in-the-making were tasked with selecting the winners from among the films featured in the 2025 Best of Annecy Kids program for two awards:

BEST FILM — YOUNG JURY
Because this is how to make an origami bird. It’s very colorful and creative. It must have taken a long time to make.

TSURU by Pedro Anias
Production: Pedro Anias

The young jury was also particularly taken with Les Bottes de la Nuit by Pierre-Luc Granjon.

BEST CHARACTER — YOUNG JURY
Because he's funny, entertaining, and also very kind to the little boy.

« The little monster » in LES BOTTES DE LA NUIT by Pierre-Luc Granjon
Production: Am Stram Gram
Distribution: PENTACLE DISTRIBUTION

Finally, the young members of the audience who attended the program presentation were also asked to vote for their favorite film to determine the Young Cinephiles—People's Choice Award.

The award went toFOREVERGREEN by Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears
Production: Jennifer Sackheim and Steph Gortz