Arco

Animation Is Film, the Los Angeles-based film festival dedicated to spotlighting animation as an art form, announced the winners of their 8th annual festival this week.

“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” a French animated film directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, took the Grand Jury Prize from the festival. Another French film that played at Cannes, “Arco” by Ugo Bienvenu, received the Audience Award. The Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize, renamed this year to honor late publicist Fumi Kitahara, went to Spanish Animated film “Decorado” from director Alberto Vázquez. Short films “Gigi” by Cynthia Calvi and “Éiru” by Giovanna Ferrari won the Shorts Jury Grand Prize and the Special Jury Prize for Shorts, respectively.

In an interview with IndieWire, Festival director Matt Kaszanek spoke about how the festival was created in 2017 to challenge narratives about animation as a lesser form of art, as well as showcase the best of international animated cinema.

“I think it’s unique to other festivals in that it’s its name is also its mission, which is to celebrate animation, to push back on a narrative that some people have, even subconsciously, that animation is kind of some lesser form of cinema. That you can like animation, but those are not titles that should be considered among the best films of the year,” Kaszanek told IndieWire. “I hear the word animated used as a qualifier a lot. When people are talking about films, they’ll say ‘Oh, I really, really loved ‘Flow.’ That was the best animated film of the year.’ And I would counter that, I think ‘Flow’ was one of the best films of last year. Animation Is Film is very much about that, and that’s its mission.”

Reflecting on how the festival has grown, Kaszanek told IndieWire that the festival has grown in attendance every year since its inception. He also said that, as the festival has established a foothold in the industry, it has become a bellwether for the Animated Feature and Animated Shorts race, with it becoming common for the majority of the movies that make the categories to play at the festival.

“Most of the films that you’re seeing at the festival, these are the films that are getting nominated for Academy Awards,” Kaszanek said. “Four of the best animated shorts had played at Animation Is Film [last year]. And then on the feature side, if you look back over the last four years, it’s pretty common we’ll have typically four, sometimes five of the Best Animated Feature nominees.”

The 2025 festival opened with “Scarlet,” an anime film from director Mamoru Hosoda. “Arco” served as the centerpiece film for the festival, while “Little Amélie” was the official closing selection. Other movies that played at the festival included “Lesbian Space Princes,” “All You Need Is Kill,” “A Story About Fire,” and a remastering of “Paranorman.” Panels from the festival included talks with the directors behind “KPOP Demon Hunters” and a sneak preview of the upcoming “Zootopia 2.”

“We really try to position ourselves as, this is your opportunity to really see everything that’s played at the bigger festivals over the course of the year. So you’re looking at what was at Berlin? And so we got ‘A Story About Fire’ from there, and then what was playing in Cannes, and that’s ‘Arco’ and ‘Little Amélie,’” Kaszanek said. “Geographical diversity is great because we really do sell this festival as an international event, and you’re seeing films from all over the world.”

Reflecting on how the festival has made an impact and the state of animation has evolved, Kaszanek told IndieWire that he feels critical respect for animation has only grown in the years since the festival started. He brought up an increase in animated movies playing at other festivals as a sign of the medium’s evolution and a sign of a promising future for the industry.

“We’re not the only people that are kind of beating that drum that animation is film, and it should be taken seriously, and that these are films that should be celebrated alongside live action films. The progress that I’m seeing is that that’s more people are saying it. The call for that is getting louder,” Kaszanek told IndieWire. “The more film festivals that are showing animation in their lineup, in their competition, is a good thing for the entire industry, and we’re seeing that.”

The 2025 Animation is Film Festival ran from October 17 to 19th at the TCL Chinese Theaters. Read the complete list of winners below.

Grand Jury Prize: “Little Amélie Or the Character of Rain” (dir. Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han)

Audience Award: “Arco” (dir. Ugo Bienvenu)

Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize: “Decorado” (dir. Alberto Vázquez)

Grand Jury Prize — Shorts: “Gigi” (dir. Cynthia Calvi)

Special Jury Prize — Shorts: “Éiru (dir. Giovanni Ferrari)