THANK YOU 11th TAFF!

01.09.2026

The 11th Turku Animated Film Festival took place from 26 to 30 August 2026 in Turku. Over the course of five days, more than 130 animated films and 20 different screenings were screened at the Manilla Culture Factory and Kino Kilta at Art House Turku. This year’s theme Animated to Life took us on a journey into the worlds of puppet animation, stop motion and hand-drawn animation.

Once again, the week was packed with a huge number of films, encounters, discussions, workshops and new experiences. In addition to the international and national competitions, the programme featured Panorama and special screenings, TAFF Junior, classic animations and the TAFF Pro programme aimed at professionals and students.

TAFF brought animated films to an ever-wider audience: over 1,600 people attended the festival’s screenings, and ticket sales also set a new record. The festival’s growth this year was encouraging, and above all, it is wonderful to see more and more people discovering the world of animation. Having celebrated its tenth anniversary last year, the Turku Animated Film festival has once again demonstrated its important role as a Finnish film festival and a key event in the animation industry.

The Taffeli character featured prominently in this year’s festival’s visual identity, which was created by Finnish animator Anni Oja. Photo: Aku Vanninen.

Every year, the festival welcomes a number of international and Finnish animation directors, who attend the screenings to talk about their films. Photo: Aku Vanninen.

As usual, the festival was held at the Manila Cultural Factort and at Kino Kilta in Art House Turku. Photo: Aku Vanninen.

At TAFF Pro, we heard inspiring talks on animation from Thomas Volda, Anna Ivanova and Anita Killi, amongst others, and followed Nanna Mäkinen and Anni Oja’s Laboratorio workshop. During the festival opening, we also had the chance to observe the animation-making process in action in Thomas Volda’s performance A Trace of Somewhere, in which the animation was created right before the audience’s eyes.

An audience of professionals watches Thomas Volda’s masterclass, Breathing the Inanimate to Life. Photo: Laura Railamaa.

Every year, TAFF brings together the Finnish and international animation scenes. Photo: Laura Railamaa.

On Saturday evening, we celebrated the culmination of the festival week at the TAFF awards ceremony, where a total of ten awards were presented. The event kicked off with Veera Räsänen and Julia Ketola’s shadow theatre performance Tulen tanssi. The films recognised by the jury stood out for their distinctive style, striking visuals and bold use of animation. The Grand Prix winner, Hunting, captivated the jury by playing on the boundary between fiction and documentary, whilst the Tough Eye award-winning Once in a Body impressed with its powerful and beautiful images painted on paper and glass.

Find out more about all the award-winning films and the jury’s statements here:

2026 Grand Prix winner Hunting by Lea Favre.

Jury members Anita Killi, Alexander Gratzer and Thomas Volda will talk about their films during their own Jury screening. Photo: Aku Vanninen.

There were also many other memorable moments throughout the week. Norwegian artist Anita Kill’s striking piece Mother Didn’t Know introduced the opening night audience to intricate handcrafted expression. Meanwhile, the open-air screening held in the Brinkkala courtyard drew a record crowd under the stars, as 170 viewers gathered beneath the starry sky to watch Alain Ughetto’s award-winning film No Dogs or Italians Allowed. The film was screened as part of the Turun elokuvakerho (TEK) and Turku Book Café’s open-air series.

Anita Killi’s Mother Didn’t Know left an impression on the opening night audience. Photo: Aku Vanninen.

TAFF’s open-air performance drew a record crowd to the Brinkkala courtyard. Photo: Aku Vanninen.

TAFF 2026 was created together. Thank you to all the filmmakers, guests, the jury, partners, volunteers, performers, workshop organizers and, above all, the audience who filled the screenings and events throughout the week.

The festival’s production team would like to thank everyone for a successful festival! Photo: Aku Vanninen.

Photo: Laura Railamaa.

How did you like the 11th TAFF? Take a moment to complete our short visitor survey and help us make future festivals even better. At the same time, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win tickets for TAFF 2027.

Answer the survey here:

See you again next year!