Special Screenings & Exhibits

Universe Room – A Tribute to Clyde Henry

Discover Clyde Henry—the stop‑motion and illustration studio of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski—at this comprehensive retrospective screening. From humble toothpaste‑and‑jam sculptures to their utterly original and mesmerizing debut Madame Tutli‑Putli (Academy Award–nominated), their work brims with surreal detail, dark humor, and captivating artistry.

Inspired by Svankmajer, The Brothers Quay, and 1970s film magazines—and fueled by late‑night pub brainstorms—Clyde Henry has redefined animation across short films (Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Cochemare, The Girl Who Cried Pearls), satirical vignettes (We Eat Shit, We Drink Too Much), music collaborations (Patrick Watson, Arcade Fire), gaming promos (South of Midnight), VR (Gymnasia), and Cirque du Soleil projections. Haunting yet familiar, their evocative and mysterious visuals ultimately contains deeply layered and compassionate explorations of the oddity known as the human heart. (Chris Robinson)

Kinetic Curiosities: The Films of Gina Kamentsky

A frequent (and beloved) presence at the OIAF, Kamentsky’s camera-less, abstract animations combine technical innovation with wild, hilarious, and often saucy storylines. The result is a mixed-media buffet of found sounds and images, infused with a comic and often absurdist sensibility. In a rare feat, her work proves that abstract animation can be both entertaining and genuinely funny! (Chris Robinson)

Raw Outrage – The Films of Phil Mulloy

Phil Mulloy is the punk bluesman of animation. His films are raw, minimalist, and ferociously satirical—short bursts of crude brilliance that confront the hypocrisies of religion, nationalism, masculinity, and class with uncompromising rage. If Disney represents the heart of animation, then Mulloy is its bowels—unafraid to reveal the grotesque underbelly of human nature.

With thick black lines, stick figures, and penis-nosed characters, Mulloy’s deceptively primitive style delivers scathing critiques of modern society. He broke onto the scene in the 1990s with the blistering Cowboys series, followed by subversive classics like The Sound of Music and The Ten Commandments. In the 2000s, he pushed further with the sci-fi-influenced trilogy Intolerance and the deeply polarizing yet groundbreaking feature and short series The Christies.

This three–part retrospective traces Mulloy’s singular career—his shocking early shorts, experimental features, and recent works like Endgame and Once Upon a Time on Earth.

-Chris Robinson, OIAF Artistic Director

Phil Mulloy Short Films 1:  The Classics

From Cowboys to The Ten Commandments, Mulloy’s classic shorts are scorched-earth cartoons: raw ink, skeletal “dickheads,” and ferocious wit. He skewers masculinity, religion, nationalism, and consumer greed with feverish speed, slapstick blasphemy, and moral gut-punches.

Phil Mulloy Short Films 2:  The Later Years

Mulloy’s Intolerance trilogy turns sci-fi schlock into savage mirror. A found ‘ZOGFILM’ sparks panic, invasions, and cults, exposing xenophobia, media manipulation, and manufactured enemies. With deadpan stick-figures and obscene wit, Mulloy skewers faith, nationalism, and spectacle—predicting our age of deepfakes and outrage. Hilarious, offensive, essential. Also screening: Endgame (2015), Once Upon a Time on Earth (2024), and Season’s Greetings (2000).

Phil Mulloy:  Goodbye Mister Christie

Mulloy’s razor-sharp anti-feature, Goodbye Mr. Christie (awarded the Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature at OIAF10) turns suburban scandal into cosmic meltdown. In deadpan minimalist animation, the Christies spiral through sex, confession, and media spectacle as fame, faith, and family implode. Hilarious, transgressive, and weirdly tender, Goodbye Mister Christie is a bracing satire about attention, guilt, and digging for an exit. 

Eternal Stories: Animating Ancient Greek Myths

Greek myths, first told almost three thousand years ago, have had fascinating afterlives in Western cultural history. Each era tells these stories again, in the visual arts, in novels, poems, plays and films. We never cease to be inspired by these eternal narratives of dysfunctional families, the ravages of war, the stubbornness of free will in the face of an inexplicable destiny. And each version reflects the atmosphere, ideology and current crises of the time and place that does the retelling.

The films in this program are inspired by Greek myth, with a particular, but not exclusive, focus on Greek drama. These versions are subversive in the free-wheeling way unique to animation. They are satirical, poetic, psychoanalytical; they contain social critique and fresh interpretations. Their aesthetic often contains a tribute to the material evidence of antiquity, or includes meta-dramatic elements that remind us of our continuing, complex and exciting relationship with the ancient world. (Magdalena Zira)

New Way, New World – Connecting Japanese Animators to the World

New Way, New World: Connecting Japanese Animators to the World (NeW NeW), a pioneering initiative by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan) and the Japan Arts Council, empowers Japanese animation creators on the global stage. By fostering international connections and providing access to premier animation festivals, NeW NeW propels filmmakers towards collaborative partnerships. At this special program, witness the brilliance of past OIAF Grand Prix laureates—Sarina Nihei, Honami Yano, and Ryo Orikasa. Joining them are three dynamic talents handpicked by the project: Ryo Hirano, Kazuki Sekiguchi, and Isaku Kaneko. Through insightful screenings and talks, these visionaries will unveil their remarkable achievements and exciting future endeavors. (Nobuaki Doi)

Georgia on My Mind – 95 Years of Georgian Animation

Discover the poetic and often surreal world of Georgian animation—a unique blend of visual experimentation, folklore, and quiet resistance. Georgia on My Mind marks 95 years of this powerful art form with a curated program of short films spanning generations. Opening with a vibrant 4-minute montage of archival gems, the screening features works by acclaimed directors including David Takaishvili, David Sikharulidze, and
Mariam Kandelaki. From lyrical tales to allegorical fables, these films reflect the soul of a culture and the vision of artists who continue to redefine animation. A rare journey through a deeply personal and universal cinematic language, this program invites audiences to see the world through a uniquely Georgian lens.

Presented by:

A Return to Memory

Donald McWilliams | 2024 | 116 min

The intrepid women who helped create Canadian cinema come to vibrant life in A Return to Memory, a documentary masterwork illuminating their vital but little-known role in establishing Canada’s National Film Board.

Juxtaposing a dazzling array of archival material with dynamic animation by NFB infographics artist Mélanie Bouchard, director Donald McWilliams evokes the heady wartime years, when women played a key part in transforming the NFB into a major international studio.

With men engaged elsewhere in the war effort, hundreds of women pursued careers at the newly formed public producer—and pioneering figures like Evelyn Spice Cherry, Red Burns and Jane Marsh Beveridge made movie history, creating work that spoke to the world with a distinctive Canadian voice.

There will also be a special companion screening of short animated films by Alma Duncan, Evelyn Lambart, and Gretta Ekman.

Touch Frame

The children yearn for the mines. We yearn for the scroll. Films from your favourite chronically online and chronically offline experimental animation meme page.

Presented by 24 Memes Per Second

KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along & Filmmaker Q&A

Help seal the Honmoon with a special sing-along screening of KPop Demon Hunters featuring the unforgettable, chart topping soundtrack of the year. Stay after for a Q&A with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans as they explore the creative journey behind this groundbreaking animated feature that shaped its bold storytelling and innovative animation.

Presented by Netflix 

Union – a special Pique and IFFO presentation

Through intimate cinema vérité, UNION chronicles the extraordinary efforts of an unlikely group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots union campaign at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Led by the charismatic but underestimated Chris Smalls, the diverse band of workers start the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) and embark on a journey against one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. The odds are stacked against them, as the group finds itself up against a tech industry giant with unlimited resources, without major support from national unions or politicians, and while navigating internal divisions within their own ranks. Filmmakers Brett Story and Stephen Maing document the struggle from day one, offering a gripping human drama about the fight for power and dignity in today’s globalized economic landscape.

Free for Pique ticket holders and anyone with a valid OIAF pass for Saturday.