Ottawa International Animation Festival
2025
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is one of the world’s leading animation events providing screenings, workshops, and entertainment since 1976. OIAF is an annual five-day event bringing art and industry together in a vibrant hub, attracting artists, producers, students, and animation fans from around the world.
From September 24 – 28, 2025, the OIAF will transform the ByTowne Cinema, Arts Court, Club SAW, Strathcona Park, the National Arts Centre, and the Ottawa Art Gallery into the epicentre of animation. Sample a few events like the variety of films in short competitions, hands-on animation workshops at All Ages @ OIAF, Animation Exposé for behind-the-scenes insights, and parties aplenty or indulge in them all at OIAF 2025!
OIAF 2025 Poster
Statement from the Artist
Last spring, Chris asked me if I would create the OIAF poster and signal film for 2025. I thought, “Sure, that’s ages from now and will involve drawing at least one owl—and I love owls!” I happily accepted the job and mentally filed it under “later.”
Only a few months later, Chris messaged me to ask if I had made any progress on the poster and if I had anything to show. I didn’t, but I felt I should present something. So, I sketched a grumpy owl sitting in a tree. Why grumpy? I’m not sure—it’s a common expression for owls, though I understand it doesn’t necessarily reflect their actual mood.
When I began working on the poster for real, I had grown fond of the grumpy owl. Since he looked a little lonely, I added some small stick figure owls that appear to be flying off the phenakistoscope. One of the stick figure owls is wearing a hat like the Animation Pimp, but I wouldn’t read too much into that.
And orange is my favourite colour.
– Torill Kove
Statement from the Artistic Director
Torill’s artwork brings a breath of fresh air to our festival poster, with a simplicity and brightness that sets it apart from the more layered and abstract designs we’ve traditionally embraced. After years of wild, wacky imagery, we wanted to try something more straightforward and direct, and Torill’s work captures that spirit perfectly. It’s a bold and beautiful new direction for OIAF, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it.
– Chris Robinson
Torill Kove
2025 Poster and Signal Film Artist
Born in Hamar, Norway, Torill Kove has lived most of her life in Montreal, Canada, except for a 3-year hiatus in Kenya, during which she, among other things, developed a healthy fear of elephants. She is an award-winning director, animator and illustrator who draws inspiration from her childhood, exploring themes of family, attachment and belonging. Her films My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts (1999) and Me and My Moulton (2014) were both nominated for an Academy Award®, with The Danish Poet (2006), narrated by Liv Ullmann, winning the Oscar® for Best Animated Short. Kove’s 2017 film Threads won a Special Prize at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. Most recently she has completed her latest animated short, Maybe Elephants, the fourth co-production between Norwegian studio Mikrofilm and the National Film Board of Canada, and the first step toward facing her fear of large mammals.
2025 Jury Members
Winston Hacking
Short Competition Jury
Winston Hacking, a graduate of Sheridan College’s Media Arts program, is known for recontextualizing found footage and photography through compositing and stop-motion animation. He has directed music videos for Flying Lotus, Andy Shauf, and Run The Jewels, with his work featured in Found Footage Magazine, Cartoon Brew, and Vimeo Staff Picks. Hacking’s work has been showcased at festivals such as OIAF and Annecy, as well as at numerous local and international microcinemas. Recently, he completed animations for the Paul McCartney documentary Man on the Run, directed by Morgan Neville. He is currently in residence at the Toronto Animated Image Society, where he is experimenting with claymation. Additionally, Hacking creates limited-edition risograph zines, including No Sweat!, Fog Nozzle, and A Dopey Photo Slop, which are distributed by Colour Code Printing.
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Winston Hacking, diplômé du programme d’arts médiatiques du Sheridan College, est connu pour avoir recontextualisé des images et des photographies trouvées par le biais de la composition et de l’animation image par image. Il a réalisé des vidéos musicales pour Flying Lotus, Andy Shauf et Run The Jewels, et son travail a été présenté dans Found Footage Magazine, Cartoon Brew et Vimeo Staff Picks. Le travail de Hacking a été présenté dans des festivals tels que l’OIAF et Annecy, ainsi que dans de nombreux microcinémas locaux et internationaux. Récemment, il a réalisé des animations pour le documentaire Man on the Run de Paul McCartney, dirigé par Morgan Neville. Il est actuellement en résidence à la Toronto Animated Image Society, où il expérimente la claymation. En outre, Hacking crée des zines risographes en édition limitée, dont No Sweat !, Fog Nozzle et A Dopey Photo Slop, qui sont distribués par Colour Code Printing.
Gina Kamentsky
Short Competition Jury
Gina Kamentsky is an animator, kinetic sculptor and sound artist based in Providence Rhode Island. Her anxious and joyful short films blast out at twenty-four frames per second searing eyeballs and sending waves of buzz and crackle into the ether. Over her three decade career she’s progressed through numerous forms including painting, drawing and collaging on film, Rotoscope, Musique concrète, sound collage, stop motion and Pixilation. Kamentsky’s films have screened at festivals nationally and worldwide.
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Gina Kamentsky est une animatrice, sculptrice cinétique et artiste sonore basée à Providence Rhode Island. Ses courts métrages anxieux et joyeux explosent à vingt-quatre images par seconde, brûlant les globes oculaires et envoyant des vagues de bourdonnement et de crépitement dans l’éther. Au cours de ses trois décennies de carrière, elle est passée par de nombreuses formes, notamment la peinture, le dessin et le collage sur film, le Rotoscope, la Musique concrète, le collage sonore, le stop motion et la Pixilation. Les films de Kamentsky ont été projetés dans des festivals nationaux et internationaux.
Mariam Kandelaki
Short Competition Jury
Mariam Kandelaki is a multifaceted professional in the world of animation, renowned for her expertise as both an Animation Director and Producer. Organizer of the International Film Festival “Nikozi”, leading educational project “Annecy Georgia” and Black Sea Animation project development workshop, founder of the annual international animation conference Anima-Tbilisi and Georgian Animators Association SAQANIMA. The films that she worked on earned more than 50 awards at festivals around the globe. Throughout her career journey, Mariam Kandelaki has continually demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing the art and industry of animation.
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Mariam Kandelaki est une professionnelle aux multiples facettes dans le monde de l’animation, réputée pour son expertise en tant que directrice d’animation et productrice. Organisatrice du festival international du film « Nikozi », chef de file du projet éducatif « Annecy Georgia » et de l’atelier de développement de projets d’animation en mer Noire, fondatrice de la conférence internationale annuelle sur l’animation Anima-Tbilisi et de l’association des animateurs géorgiens SAQANIMA. Les films sur lesquels elle a travaillé ont reçu plus de 50 prix dans les festivals du monde entier. Tout au long de sa carrière, Mariam Kandelaki a toujours fait preuve d’un engagement profond pour faire progresser l’art et l’industrie de l’animation.
Chris Lavis
Feature Competition Jury
Chris Lavis‘ first film, Madame Tutli-Putli, created with artistic partner Maciek Szczerbowski, was recognized with an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film. Lavis and Szczerbowski went on to adapt Maurice Sendak’s Higglety Pigglety Pop!, produced by Spike Jonze. In 2016, they acted as Art Directors for Guy Maddin’s feature The Forbidden Room, and in 2017, twenty years of artistic creation was celebrated with retrospectives at the Cinémathèque québécoise and the Annecy Festival. In 2019 they collaborated with Felix & Paul Studios and the National Film Board of Canada to create Gymnasia, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and went on to win numerous awards including a Canadian Screen Award for Best Immersive Experience. Their latest work, The Girl Who Cried Pearls (NFB), was chosen as the opening film of the 2025 Annecy Animation Festival.
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Le premier film de Chris Lavis, Madame Tutli-Putli, créé avec son partenaire artistique Maciek Szczerbowski, a été récompensé par une nomination à l’Oscar du meilleur court métrage d’animation. Lavis et Szczerbowski ont ensuite adapté Higglety Pigglety Pop ! de Maurice Sendak, produit par Spike Jonze. En 2016, ils assurent la direction artistique du long métrage The Forbidden Room de Guy Maddin, et en 2017, vingt ans de création artistique sont célébrés par des rétrospectives à la Cinémathèque québécoise et au Festival d’Annecy. En 2019 ils ont collaboré avec Felix & Paul Studios et l’Office national du film du Canada pour créer Gymnasia, dont la première a eu lieu au Tribeca Film Festival 2019, et qui a ensuite remporté de nombreux prix, dont un Canadian Screen Award pour la meilleure expérience immersive. Leur dernière œuvre, The Girl Who Cried Pearls (ONF), a été choisie comme film d’ouverture du Festival d’animation d’Annecy 2025.
Dr. Magdalena Zira
Feature Competition Jury
Dr Magdalena Zira is a theatre director and classics scholar based in Cyprus. She has written plays, the scripts for short films and has adapted texts for the stage. In 2019 she was awarded the artist of the year award by the State Theatre of Cyprus. She co-founded the award-winning feminist theatre company Project Season Women. In 2022 this company created and produced the hit documentary drama Women Walk Home that participated in the Athens and Epidaurus Festival. She is particularly interested in Ancient Greek drama and myth and their contemporary revision through a feminist and post-colonial lens. She has been an artistic collaborator of Animafest Cyprus since 2012.
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Magdalena Zira est une metteuse en scène de théâtre et une spécialiste des lettres classiques basée à Chypre. Elle a écrit des pièces de théâtre, des scénarios de courts-métrages et a adapté des textes pour la scène. En 2019, elle a reçu le prix de l’artiste de l’année décerné par le Théâtre d’État de Chypre. Elle a cofondé la compagnie théâtrale féministe primée Project Season Women. En 2022, cette compagnie a créé et produit le documentaire dramatique à succès Women Walk Home, qui a participé au festival d’Athènes et d’Épidaure. Elle s’intéresse particulièrement aux drames et aux mythes de la Grèce antique et à leur révision contemporaine dans une optique féministe et postcoloniale. Elle est collaboratrice artistique de l’Animafest Cyprus depuis 2012.
Honami Yano
Feature Competition Jury
Honami Yano was born in 1991 on a small island in Japan. While studying in Kyoto, she joined an exchange program at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she discovered independent animation. She later attended the Graduate School of Film and New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts, studying under Koji Yamamura. Her graduation film, Chromosome Sweetheart (2017), won the KuanDog Prize at the Kuandu International Animation Festival and was nominated for Frameline and several other festivals.
Her first post-graduate film, A Bite of Bone received the Grand Prize for Short Animation at the 45th Ottawa International Animation Festival. She is currently developing a new film Eri.
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Honami Yano est née en 1991 sur une petite île du Japon. Alors qu’elle étudie à Kyoto, elle participe à un programme d’échange à la Rhode Island School of Design, où elle découvre l’animation indépendante. Elle a ensuite fréquenté l’École supérieure du cinéma et des nouveaux médias de l’Université des arts de Tokyo, où elle a étudié sous la direction de Koji Yamamura. Son film de fin d’études, Chromosome Sweetheart (2017), a remporté le prix KuanDog au Festival international d’animation de Kuandu et a été nommé pour Frameline et plusieurs autres festivals.
Son premier film de troisième cycle, A Bite of Bone, a reçu le Grand Prix du court métrage d’animation au 45e Festival international d’animation d’Ottawa. Elle développe actuellement un nouveau film, Eri.