Japan‘s presence at the 2026 Annecy Animation Festival marks a recent high-water mark, with 25 Japanese films selected across the festival’s competitive and non-competitive sections – up from 18 last year – as the country’s industry bodies simultaneously consolidate their MIFA footprint under a unified booth structure.
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Three booths that previously operated separately have been brought together for this edition: the Japan Booth, run by UniJapan; VIPO; and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, with the Agency for Cultural Affairs providing overarching leadership of the combined effort. The consolidation is designed to allow Japan to present a strong, collective front to international partners at the market.
Japan’s 25 Annecy selections span almost every section of the festival’s program. In the main Features competition, Kadowaki Kohei’s “We Are Aliens” – a Japan-France co-production – vies for the top prize. The Contrechamp section carries four Japanese titles: Shinomiya Yoshitoshi’s France co-production “A New Dawn”; Kuji Goro’s “Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise”; Takahashi Wataru’s “The Obsessed”; and Christopher Sullivan’s Japan-U.S. co-production “The Orbit of Minor Satellites.”
Four Japanese films screen in the Annecy Presents section: Hirota Yusuke’s “Chimney Town: Frozen in Time,” Taniguchi Goro’s “Paris ni Saku Étoile,” Ito Tomohiko’s “The Keeper of the Camphor Tree,” and Igarashi Yuki’s “The Ribbon Hero.” Kutsuna Kenichi’s “Sekiro: No Defeat” appears in Midnight Specials, while works-in-progress include Kuribayashi Kazuaki’s “Killtube” and “Monkey Quest,” directed by David N. Weiss as a Japan-U.S. project.
Short film selections include Yamamura Koji’s “Haru no Umi,” with Yakata Kanata’s “Bucketman” and Miyajima Ryotaro’s “Rest” in the Perspectives strand, and two Midnight Shorts: Nagaya Seishiro’s “A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard” and Yamada Ryoji’s “Builder.” Mokochan’s “Dive Into ‘Ghost in the Shell‘” screens as a Special Event.
In TV Films, Japan has four entries: Misato Tomoki’s “Jaadugar: Candy Caries”; Yamada Naoko and Abel Gongora’s “Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia”; Ota Minoru’s “Sparks of Tomorrow Episode 1”; and Iino Shinya’s “Takopi’s Original Sin.” The Graduation Films section includes Guo Yini’s “Plankton α,” Sam Kuwa’s Japan-China co-production “So He Grabbed the Knife,” and Yiling Wang’s “Slap.”
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On the market side, the Agency for Cultural Affairs is channeling resources through its Japan Creator Support Fund, under which a range of industry events are organized at this year’s MIFA. A co-production panel, “Finding a Shared Vision: Co-Production with Japan,” takes place on June 25, presenting two feature projects: Shinomiya Yoshitoshi’s completed “A New Dawn” and Kawamura Masashi’s work-in-progress “Hidari,” with both directors in attendance.
The Global Anime Challenge – a three-year Agency for Cultural Affairs-funded program aimed at cultivating emerging Japanese anime talent through studio internships abroad – is presenting 12 original IP projects across two sessions on June 23. Among the titles pitching in Part 1 is “Lucifer’s Lawyer,” a fantasy dramedy directed by Koide Takushi, whose TV anime “Goodbye, Lara” is set to air this July. Part 2 features projects from two “Bocchi the Rock!” staff members: Saito Keiichiro, director of the first season, and Yamamoto Yusuke, director of the upcoming second season. Also pitching across the two sessions are Shinohara Keisuke’s “Phantom of the Cadillac,” Takarai Shunsuke’s “Ninja Skooler,” and Kudo Mana’s “Error403.”
VIPO is hosting a further event backed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, with details available through VIPO directly. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is also staging its own session at the market.
Driven by the Japan Creator Support Fund initiatives, a diverse group of Japanese professionals and students will be attending Annecy and MIFA this year, making Japan’s presence larger than ever, a month after the nation roared at the Cannes Film Market as its Country of Honor.
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