The Animation First Festival, the largest animation festival in the country (and the only francophone animation festival), is returning to the Big Apple this February, bringing with it stateside premieres, a focus on Belgian animation, and a full slate of filmmaker talks, shorts, and VR experiences. Now in its ninth year, the Animation First Festival will host the U.S. premiere of Momoko Seto’s Dandelion’s Odyssey, which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Prix FIPRESCI. Other premieres include Tales from the Magic Garden, Allah Is Not Obliged, Death Does Not Exist, an adaptation of Heart Of Darkness, and more.
Hosted by L’Alliance, New York’s francophone and French-language cultural center, the festival will feature a series of Francophone shorts, including “the best of new animated shorts from emerging and established filmmakers.” Animation First will also spotlight Belgian animators, including the late Raoul Servais. The fest offers a full course of animation styles, from hand-drawn to stop-motion.
“With this year’s program, we are delighted to once again spotlight animation at its best, as an art form that engages, delights, and surprises,” says Delphine Selles-Alvarez, who co-curated along with Chloe Dheu. “From paper cut-outs and clay puppets to hand-drawn and CG animation, this year’s filmmakers mine the potential of animation to tell stories of deep contemporary social and political resonance, as well as engage in lighter subjects of friendship, storytelling, and epic adventures. Children and adults alike are in for unique discoveries at Animation First 2026.”
Animation First Festival takes place at the Florence Gould Theater in New York City, running from February 3 through February 8. Get your tickets here.
