We Are Aliens, Praying Mantis Win Top Prizes at 50th OIAF
Kohei Kadowaki's We Are Aliens took the feature Grand Prize and Joe Hsieh's Praying Mantis won short animation at the 50th Ottawa International Animation Festival.
The 50th Ottawa International Animation Festival handed out its 2026 awards on Saturday, with Kohei Kadowaki's We Are Aliens taking the Grand Prize for Animated Feature. The film premiered earlier this year in Cannes' Directors' Fortnight.
In the short animation competition, Joe Hsieh's Praying Mantis won the Grand Prize. The win makes the film eligible for consideration in the animated short category at the Academy Awards.
The festival's biggest story was Laurence Thérien's claymation short Ball Face, which collected four awards — a first in OIAF history. It won the Public Prize, the Hélène Tanguay Award for Humour, the Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation, and the Canadian Student Award. The film also won the Cristal for a Graduation Film at Annecy in June.
Honami Yano's Eri was named Best Animated Short, while Julie Charette's La comète took the Canada Media Fund Award for Best Canadian Animation. Adult Swim's The Elephant topped the Platform Animation Competition.
Don Hertzfeldt's Paper Trail, which won the Cristal for a Short Film at Annecy in June, added OIAF's Best Sound Design prize. Honorable mentions in the feature category went to Sun Xun's Magic Atlas and Leah Nelson's Tangles.
Cartoon Brew reported the full slate of winners from the milestone edition of the festival.
Quick answers
Which film won the Grand Prize for Animated Feature at OIAF 2026?
Kohei Kadowaki's We Are Aliens won the Grand Prize for Animated Feature. It premiered earlier this year in Cannes' Directors' Fortnight.
How many awards did Ball Face win at OIAF?
Laurence Thérien's claymation short Ball Face won four awards: the Public Prize, the Hélène Tanguay Award for Humour, the Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation, and the Canadian Student Award — a first in the festival's history.
Does the OIAF short animation Grand Prize qualify a film for the Oscars?
Yes. Joe Hsieh's Praying Mantis, which won the Grand Prize for Short Animation, qualifies for consideration in the animated short category at the Academy Awards.