Tangles and Paper Trail Take Top Prizes at Animation Is Film
Leah Nelson's Tangles won the feature Grand Jury Prize, while Don Hertzfeldt's Paper Trail topped the shorts competition at the ninth edition.
The ninth Animation Is Film Festival closed in Los Angeles on October 19, 2026, with Tangles winning the Grand Jury Prize for features and Don Hertzfeldt's Paper Trail taking the Grand Jury Prize for shorts, according to cartoonbrew.com.
Tangles, directed by Leah Nelson, is adapted from Sarah Leavitt's graphic novel and follows a family dealing with a mother's dementia. Louis Clichy's Iron Boy collected both the Audience Award and the Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize, while Anna Mantzaris's Please received the Special Jury Prize for shorts.
The festival ran from October 16 to 19 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood and the Academy Museum's David Geffen Theater. Its competition sections featured nine features and 18 shorts.
Beyond the competitions, the program included the first big-screen presentation of Dana Terrace's Knights of Guinevere, a special screening of Laika's Wildwood with Travis Knight, a behind-the-scenes look at Disney's Hexed, and a work-in-progress presentation of Matt Braly's Clara and the Below.
The feature jury comprised Jinko Gotoh, Dice Tsutsumi and Ramin Zahed. Elizabeth Ito, Jerry Beck and Rachel House served on the shorts jury. The Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize is named after the publicist, who died in 2025.
Quick answers
Who won the Grand Jury Prize for features at Animation Is Film 2026?
Leah Nelson's Tangles, adapted from Sarah Leavitt's graphic novel, won the feature Grand Jury Prize.
Which film won the shorts Grand Jury Prize?
Don Hertzfeldt's Paper Trail won the Grand Jury Prize for shorts.
Where and when was the ninth Animation Is Film Festival held?
It ran from October 16 to 19, 2026, at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood and the Academy Museum's David Geffen Theater in Los Angeles.