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OIAF names 50 Canadian animated shorts that shaped its first 50 years

OTTAWA, On — On Canada Day, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is turning the spotlight on Canadian animation, unveiling a curated list of 50 animated shorts that have helped define the festival over the past five decades.

Drawn from more than 700 Canadian films screened since 1976, the list reflects the perspective of OIAF’s programming team and highlights works selected for their lasting impact, originality and ability to resonate over time. The initiative marks the first time the festival has undertaken a retrospective of Canadian animation across its full 50-year history.

“For 50 years, OIAF has watched Canadian animation change, break apart, reinvent itself and keep surprising us. This retrospective isn’t about creating some final, fixed canon,” says OIAF artistic director Chris Robinson. “It’s a way of looking back at the incredible range of voices, techniques and risks that have come through the festival since 1976. These films remind us that Canadian animation has never been just one thing. It’s personal, political, funny, strange, handmade, experimental and quietly influential.”

The list includes films by leading Canadian animators, alongside widely recognized works and lesser-known discoveries that have shaped the evolution of the medium in Canada and beyond. It offers a snapshot of how Canadian animation has evolved across generations, from experimental and commercial films to Academy Award winners.

As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, OIAF will unveil its top 10 selections during the 2026 festival in September, each accompanied by a short essay from the programming team. The “50 in 50: OIAF’s Favourite Canadian Animation Shorts” films will be presented during the festival, offering audiences an opportunity to revisit the influential works and rediscover new favourites.

Two awards will be presented during the OIAF Awards Ceremony: the programming team’s top pick and a public choice award determined by audience vote.

The full list of 50 films, presented in alphabetical order, includes:

  1. Abandon Bob Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here (dir. Kevin D.A. Kurytnik)

  2. Afterlife (dir. Ishu Patel)

  3. Âme Noire (Black Soul) (dir. Martine Chartrand)

  4. At the Quinte Hotel (dir. Bruce Alcock)

  5. Beau comme ailleurs (Beautiful Like Elsewhere) (dir. Elise Simard)

  6. Begone Dull Care (dir. Paul Johnson)

  7. Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) (dir. Amanda Strong)

  8. Bless You (dir. David Barlow-Krelina)

  9. Bob’s Birthday (dirs. David Fine, Alison Snowden)

  10.  Bout (dir. Malcolm Sutherland)

  11.  Cattle Call (dirs. Matthew Rankin, Mike Maryniuk)

  12.  Crac! (dir. Frédéric Back)

  13.  Curse of the Voodoo Child (dir. Steven Woloshen)

  14.  End of the World in Four Seasons (dir. Paul Driessen)

  15.  Entre deux soeurs (Two Sisters) (dir. Caroline Leaf)

  16.  Erodium Thunk (dir. Winston Hacking)

  17.  Every Dog’s Guide to Complete Home Safety (dir. Les Drew)

  18.  Finding Uranus (dir. Ivan Li)

  19.  Flux (dir. Christopher Hinton)

  20.  From the Big Bang to Tuesday Morning (dir. Claude Cloutier)

  21.  Git Gob (dir. Philip Eddolls)

  22.  In the Shadow of the Pines (dir. Anne Koizumi)

  23.  Le Chandail (The Sweater) (dir. Sheldon Cohen)

  24.  Le Chapeau (The Hat) (dir. Michèle Cournoyer)

  25.  Le paysagiste (Mindscape) (dir. Jacques Drouin)

  26.  Les journaux de Lipsett (Lipsett Diaries) (dir. Theodore Ushev)

  27.  Linear Dreams (dir. Richard Reeves)

  28.  Living the Dream (dir. Ben Meinhardt)

  29.  Log Driver’s Waltz (dir. John Weldon)

  30.  Madame Tutli-Putli (dirs. Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski)

  31.  Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics (dir. Terril Calder)

  32.  Mouseholes (dir. Helen Hill)

  33.  My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes (dir. Charlie Tyrell)

  34.  My Favourite Things That I Love (dir. Janet Perlman)

  35.  Mynarski Death Plummet (dir. Matthew Rankin)

  36.  Pink Komkommer (dir. Marv Newland)

  37.  Rivière au tonnerre (Thunder River) (dir. Pierre Hébert)

  38.  Ryan (dir. Chris Landreth)

  39.  Sonámbulo (The Sleepwalker) (dir. Theodore Ushev)

  40.  Squame (dir. Nicolas Brault)

  41.  Strings (dir. Wendy Tilby)

  42.  The Big Snit (dir. Richard Condie)

  43.  The Cat Came Back (dir. Cordell Baker)

  44.  The Mixy Tapes (dirs. David  Seitz, Michael Wray)

  45.  The Street (dir. Caroline Leaf)

  46.  Two Weeks – Two Minutes (dir. Judith Poirier)

  47.  Un trou dans la poitrine (A Crab in the Pool) (dirs. Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hamel)

  48.  What the Walls Feel as they Stare at Rob Ford Sitting in his Office (dir. Guillaume Pelletier-Auger)

  49.  When the Day Breaks (dirs. Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis)

  50.  Why Me? (dirs. Derek Lamb, Janet Perlman)

About the Ottawa International Animation Festival

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events and North America’s oldest animation festival. It has presented screenings, exhibits, workshops, and entertainment since 1976. Attracting artists, producers, students and animation fans from around the globe, the OIAF brings together art and industry to experience world-class animated works. OIAF’s 50th celebration runs from September 23 to September 27 at venues throughout downtown Ottawa. Festival passes are on sale now.

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