The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) has revealed the five animated feature films selected for the 2025 Official Competition. This year’s selection includes a strong showing of emerging talent and award-winning animators from the international festival circuit. All five films will compete for the Grand Prize for Feature Animation, to be determined by a jury made up of Chris Lavis (Canada), Dr. Magdalena Zira(Cyprus) and Honami Yano (Japan).
The OIAF 2025 Features Competition films are:
- ChaO (dir. Yasuhiro Aoki, Japan)
- Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake (L’Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible) (dir. Irene Iborra, Spain/France/Belgium/
Switzerland) - The Great History of Western Philosophy (La gran historia de la filosofía occidental) (dir. Aria Covamonas, Mexico)
- Death Does Not Exist (La mort n’existe pas) (dir. Félix Dufour-Laperrière, Canada)
- Tales from the Magic Garden (Pohádky po babičce) (dirs. David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Slovenia/
France)
“This year’s Official Competition is a celebration of just how far animated features have come,” says Chris Robinson, OIAF’s Artistic Director. “From drawings and collage to archival footage, stop-motion puppets to digital cut-outs, these films prove there’s no technique too bold for a feature-length canvas. At OIAF, we’ve always championed experimentation, and it’s thrilling to see stories that explore philosophy, politics, poverty, creativity, protest and resilience in unique, inventive ways — refreshingly standing apart from the endless formulaic studio features churned out each season.”
The 2025 Features Competition includes several films honored at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival: ChaO, the highly anticipated debut feature from Yasuhiro Aoki and Studio4ºC, took home the Jury Award. Canada’s own Death Does Not Exist, the latest from acclaimed Québec animator Félix Dufour-Laperrière (Archipel, Ville Neuve), was recognized for its original soundtrack. And Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake), adapted from Maité Carranza’s graphic novel La Vie est un film, received the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution.
The OIAF competition also features Tales from the Magic Garden, a 3D stop-motion puppet anthology based on Arnošt Goldflam’s collection of stories, Of Unwanted Things and People. Premiering at Berlinale 2025, this international co-production was eight years in the making and brings together directors from across Central Europe.
Rounding out the selection is The Great History of Western Philosophy, the debut feature from Aria Covamonas. Known for her Dadaist collage shorts (Socrates’ Adventures in the Underground, Hideouser and Hideouser, I Can’t Go On Like This), Covamonas crafts a bold, intricate narrative from public domain footage and audio, featuring figures ranging from Socrates to Mickey Mouse. The film premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival earlier this year.
The Grand Prize winner for Best Animated Feature will be announced live at the OIAF Awards Ceremony on September 27, 2025, at theNational Arts Centre in Ottawa.
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