Encounters 2026 expands its animation slate with 45 competition titles + special presentations from Adult Swim, Aardman, Blue Zoo and more

02 September 2026 // Festival News

Skwigly

Encounters Film Festival has unveiled its 2026 programme. This year’s edition features 140 films – 18 world premieres, eight international premieres, one European premiere and 43 UK premieres – with half the programme new to UK audiences. It also includes 45 animated films competing for the Animated Encounters Grand Prix, among them 2 world premieres and 13 UK premieres.

Encounters Executive Director Dave Taylor-Matthews says:

This year’s programme is the clearest expression yet of what Encounters is. The UK’s longest running international short film competition sits at the heart of the festival, and around it we’re building a festival of breakthrough and discovery in every form, from a pulsating live performance reimagining last year’s phenomenal Cannes breakthrough Sirāt, to new partnerships with Crack, MUBI, Invada and Warp Records, to the creators redefining how films get made and seen, from a 360 dome screening to a nano budget British feature that stormed SXSW. With a strengthened board behind us and half this year’s programme never before seen in the UK, if you want to see where cinema is heading, Bristol in September is the place to be.

PLEASE (Dir. Anna Mantzaris, Image: Passion Paris/Apparat Filmproduktion/Miyu)

Animated Encounters returns with a showcase from cult US network Adult Swim, anchoring a future‑focused day of conversations, workshops and masterclasses exploring narrative, story and the evolving craft of animation. The strand opens with a keynote from Lucy Stone (Climate Spring), followed by a visual storytelling masterclass from Jay Clarke, Wes Anderson’s lead storyboard artist.

The International Animation Competition Programme includes new work by Don Hertzfeldt (Paper Trail), Anna Mantzaris (PLEASE), Theodore Ushev (Life with an Idiot), Anna Ginsburg (HAG), Emma Calder and Coco Cripps (House of Love), and Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (The Girl Who Cried Pearls). Documentary titles include Maryam Tafakory’s Daria’s Night Flowers and Elham Ehsas’ Forgotten Spaceman. Viral filmmaker Wesley Wang brings the international festival premiere of Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank, and BFI NETWORK South West showcases its newest cohort of regional animation writers. The Animated Encounters industry day also features collaborations with Animinspo and Bristol Animation Meetup (BAM).

House of Love (Dir. Emma Calder, Coco Cripps)

Animated Encounters International Competition

Animated Encounters 1

Ducks, dir. AJ Jefferies (United Kingdom)
Paper Daughter, dir. Cami Kwan (United States) UK Premiere
Dollhouse Elephant, dir. Jenny Jokela (Finland)
Adgwa-Ata, dir. Zsuzsanna Kreif (Hungary, France) UK Premiere
Winter in March, dir. Natalya Mirzoyan (Estonia, Armenia, France, Belgium)
The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God, dir. Jamie Hewlett, Max Taylor (United Kingdom)
Ball Face, dir. Laurence Thérien (Canada, United Kingdom)

Animated Encounters 2

Send Nudes, dir. David Sick (Germany)
With Tapes and Toasts in the Car, dir. Kiana Naghshineh (Germany, France) UK Premiere
The Death of the Fish, dir. Eva Lusbaronian (France) UK Premiere
Paper Trail, dir. Don Hertzfeldt (United States)
Gaïa, dir. Gwenola Heck (Germany) UK Premiere
Happy New Year, dir. Radu Gaciu (Romania) World Premiere

Animated Encounters 3

Other I, dir. Alina Popescu (France)
Babyface, dir. Sacha Beeley (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Wavelength, dir. Kate Auster, Holly Warburton (United Kingdom)
Once in a body, dir. María Cristina Pérez González (Colombia, United States)
9 Million Colors, dir. Bára Anna Stejskalová (Czech Republic, Norway, Germany)
POOB, dir. AJ Jefferies (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Dog Alone, dir. Marta Reis Andrade (Portugal, France)
The Girl Who Cried Pearls, dir. Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)

Animated Encounters 4

House of Love, dir. Emma Calder, Coco Cripps (United Kingdom)
Death’s Peak, dir. Willy Fair (United Kingdom)
Ultra Strong, dir. Catherine Lepage (Canada) UK Premiere
Making a Mother, dir. Emily Downe (United Kingdom)
Bisou Sauvage, dir. Bahij Jaroudi (Canada) UK Premiere
Trading Cards, dir. Radheya Jang (Australia, United Kingdom)
Meal Deal, dir. Niamh McArdle, Amy Mulcahy, Anaïs Kheir (United Kingdom)
Just One Peek, dir. Mulan Fu (United States)
HAG, dir. Anna Ginsburg (United Kingdom)

HAG (Dir. Anna Ginsburg, Image: Strange Beast/Passion Pictures)

Animated Encounters 5

I Have a, dir. Rory Waudby-Tolley (United Kingdom)
Bread Will Walk, dir. Alex Boya (Canada)
Why Did Kai Stop Painting, dir. Hao Yu (Germany) World Premiere
Future Of…, dir. Scott Coello (United Kingdom)
On Saint Nicholas’ Eve, dir. Emy Mirel Ivașcă (Romania)
Growing Stones, Flying Papers, dir. Roozbeh Gezerseh, Soraya Shamsi (Germany) UK Premiere
A Pint of Bitter, dir. Conor Kehelly (Ireland, United Kingdom)

Animated Encounters 6

Lost Touch, dir. Justine Klaiber (Switzerland)
Ever Ending Summer, dir. Nikki Girod, Sylvia Jorde (Germany) UK Premiere
Dance of The Spirits, dir. Andreea-Lorena Florea (United Kingdom)
The Rossini Garden, dir. William Burger, Tara Rewal, Siméon Jacob, Odelia Laine, Garance
I’m not sure, dir. Luisa Zürcher (Switzerland)
Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank, dir. Wesley Wang (United States) International Premiere
Life with an idiot, dir. Theodore Ushev (France)
Please, dir. Anna Mantzaris (Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland)

Animation is also well-represented across the festival’s DepicT!, Late Lounge, Documentary, Kids Shorts (5+) and Kids Shorts (10+) screenings. The animation slate is further strengthened by a special screening of Aardman’s new Shaun the Sheep film, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, introduced by BAFTA‑winning producer Richard Beek, while Blue Zoo Co‑founder Tom Box presents the studio’s new manifesto outlining principles for healthy, child‑focused screen content. Together, these events highlight the strength of the UK’s animation landscape and Encounters’ role in championing both established and emerging talent.

Ultra Strong (Dir. Catherine Lepage, Image: NFB)

Across the wider programme, Encounters features the UK premieres of Saoirse Ronan’s Paper Plane, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Revolution Against Death, Bill Morrison’s Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon, Jérémy Comte’s Brute and the English premiere of Paul Wright’s Mission, with Wright and star Rosy McEwen set to attend. Opening night will see the festival take over the planetarium at We The Curious for a special 360 dome screening, launching the week with cinema in the round.

Other leading industry figures include BAFTA‑winning casting director Isabella Odoffin, Documentary Film Council CEO Mandy Chang and Academy Award-winner Aneil Karia. Bad Wolf offers insights into talent development and HETV production, while Bristol‑based VFX studio Lux Aeterna breaks down the making of its sci‑fi short RENO.

The programme explores the future of film – from vertical formats to creator‑led pathways and new distribution models – with sessions on vertical drama (Jen Cooper, Marina Elderton, Noel Goodwin) and creator‑to‑filmmaker routes (Wesley Wang, David Levy, HaZ).

This year, Encounters also introduces screenPLAY, a new youth strand championing positive screen experiences across gaming, filmmaking, animation and digital creativity. The Industry Programme, which runs 23-25 September at Watershed and partner venues across Bristol, will see filmmakers, producers, commissioners and executives convene for talks, masterclasses and sector‑focused sessions.

The 31st edition of Encounters Film Festival runs 23-27 September across Watershed, Prospect Building, We The Curious and Wake The Tiger. The festival is supported by BFI Film Audience Network, the University of Bristol, UWE Bristol, Eventive, MUBI, the British Council and Aardman Animations, with partners including Crack Magazine, Warp Records, Simple Things, Invada and others.

Passes are available now.
For the full rundown of programme highlights including premieres, partnerships, guests and industry events, visit encounters.film