Author: Anton

TAFF Pro Workshop: Nanna Mäkinen & Anni Oja – Laboratorio

The theme of “Animated to Life” is explored in greater depth in the workshop LABORATORIO, led by puppet maker Nanna Mäkinen and animator Anni Oja. The workshop explores how puppet theater and stop-motion animation can be used to bring puppets, materials, and objects to life. Both the instructors and participants will bring their own perspectives and expertise to the table to create short experiments. Participants are welcome to bring along any (small) objects that interest them. The workshop’s experiments will be filmed using the participants’ own devices, such as a smartphone and the free Stop Motion Studio app.

Register for the workshop via this link. The workshop is part of our TAFF Pro program for professionals. All professionals and students in the fields of animation, film and the arts in general can apply for accreditation to the festival. Accreditation grants the festival pass with the discounted price of 38 €.

Anni Oja & Nanna Mäkinen.

TAFF PRO Masterclass: Anna Ivanova – From the Puppet’s Perspective

Puppet theater expert and director Anna Ivanova (FR) brings the perspective of a puppeteer to the theme of how the inanimate becomes alive. Anna has years of experience in various puppet theatre productions, most recently she has delved into baby theatre.

Anna Ivanova.

TAFF PRO Masterclass: Thomas Volda – Breathing the Inanimate to Life

On Thursday, director Thomas Volda (UK/CRO) offers an insight into the creative and practical process of making puppet films through his award-winning stop-motion films made in with his artistic partner, Ivana Volda. Drawing on his experience in stop-motion animation, Volda explores storytelling, visual development, puppet performance, and the expressive possibilities of handcrafted filmmaking. Through examples from his own films and production process, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how animation can transform inanimate materials into compelling cinematic worlds.

Thomas Volda.

sTAFF Picks

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English. Favourite films as chosen by the team behind TAFF. Film list will be announced after Award Ceremony 29.8.

Kaikki elokuvat, joissa puhutaan muuta kuin englantia, on tekstitetty englanniksi. TAFFin tuotantotiimin valitsemat suosikkielokuvansa. Esitettävät elokuvat julkaistaan palkinnonjaon jälkeen 29.8.

Films in this screening:

Films:

Announced later
(Ilmoitetaan myöhemmin)

Tulossa pian, coming soon.

This screenings films will be announced soon!

Audience Favourites

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.
Favourite films as chosen by our audiences. Film list will be announced after Award Ceremony 29.8.

Kaikki elokuvat, joissa puhutaan muuta kuin englantia, on tekstitetty englanniksi.
Yleisön valitsemat suosikkielokuvat. Esitettävät elokuvat julkaistaan palkinnonjaon jälkeen 29.8.

Films in this screening:

Films:

Announced later
(Ilmoitetaan myöhemmin)

Tulossa pian, coming soon.

This screenings films will be announced soon!

Best of TAFF 2026

Selection of all awarded films of 2026. Film list will be announced after the Award Ceremony on 29.8.

Valikoima vuoden 2026 palkituista elokuvista. Esitettävät elokuvat julkaistaan palkintojenjakotilaisuuden jälkeen 29.8.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Kaikki elokuvat, joissa puhutaan muuta kuin englantia, on tekstitetty englanniksi.

Films in this screening:

Films:

Announced later
(Ilmoitetaan myöhemmin)

Tulossa pian, coming soon.

This screenings films will be announced soon!

Tough Cinema –
Late-Night Panorama

After night falls, things get a little tougher. True to its name, the new Tough Cinema screening is aimed at the toughest of the tough film fans. This psychedelic extravaganza features a selection of the year’s finest films, ranging from the strangest of the strange to the bloodiest of the bloody. All spiced with pitch-black humour, of course. The charm and excitement of the late night are etched onto your retinas at a late-night screening in the atmospheric Kino Kilta.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.
Duration: 1 h 13 min.

Films in this screening:

Nikoletta Veress:

Each, All and Every

Hungary, 2025. 11 minutes.

Mr Rabbit is unable to decide what to become when he grows up. Overwhelmed by the number of choices, he instead escapes into his imagination and creates tiny replicas of himself. Watching these copies he explores a new world full of possibilities. He enjoys this situation until one fatal mistake: through his own fault, he loses one of his opportunities. This loss overcomes his senses.

Nadiia Pliamko:

ab mala usque ab ovo

Estonia, 2025. 6 minutes.

A re-examination of the Expulsion from Paradise. Using MoCap to reconstruct unpleasant sensations, a Neurotic journeys through self-rejection to transform sub-personalities. A psychological self-portrait turning somatic trauma into a gift of unconditional love.

Šimon Mészáros:

Quantum Jump

Czechia, 2026. 10 minutes.

In a surreal journey of self-discovery, a man serving twins in a luxurious mansion confronts the unknown world hidden behind the conditioning. He outplays them and embarks on a symbolic odyssey through a magic orchard, the world around him decays into fading echoes of meaning—revealing renewal within the ruins of universal self.

Sacha Beeley:

Babyface

United Kingdom, 2026. 6 minutes.

Spoon finds a coupon

Maria Zilli:

Visiting the zoo

Italy, 2025. 4 minutes.

Visiting the zoo portrays a glimpse into the lives of three characters who move through the city like animals in a zoo, gradually reconnecting with their primordial instincts. Until they erupt in a final confrontation with real animals, breaking free from all social constraints.

Levi Stoops:

Klonter

Belgium, 2025. 14 minutes.

Frankie believes he is about to die with no one to say goodbye to. On his way to the stars, he accidentally turns into a planet and an explosion of life occurs on his body, including some creatures that look like him.

Léo Bournas Milazzo:

The Happy Pig Brand

United Kingdom, 2025. 4 minutes.

Four young piglets go on a workplace visit with their school, getting a sneak peak into their possible future at ‘The Happy Pig Brand’.

Joe Hsieh:

Praying Mantis

Taiwan, 2025. 18 minutes.

A praying mantis mutant seduces and preys on men out of desperation to save her child. A failed mission led to revelations of her past and dark secrets as the story unfolds.

Turun Anikistit –
20 years Anniversary Screening

Anikistit are turning 20! Turun Anikistit ry is an active and diverse part of Turku’s art scene, with its core mission being to create and showcase independent and non-commercial animation art. Over the years, Anikistit have created experimental and collaborative artworks that have also gained recognition at international festivals. The association has also organised workshops, animation camps and exhibitions. Perhaps their most visible work in the streets of Turku is the colourful design of the local library bus. TAFF’s anniversary screening presents highlights from the association’s current film production.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Please note that this screening is not suitable for children.

Films in this screening:

Turun Anikistit ry:

English Lessons

Finland, 2008. 20 minutes.

An animated English lesson animated by Turku Anikistit ry. The film recycles a lesson recording from the 1970’s. Adult education.

Turun Anikistit ry:

Commercial Break
(Mainoskatko)

Finland, 2013. 5 minutes.

Animation directors learn the secrets of advertising.

Turun Anikistit ry, Osuuskunta Paperihattu:

100th Anniversary of Finnish Animation. WOW!
(100 vuotta suomalainen animaatio vau!)

Finland, 2014. 2 minutes.

See the history of Finnish Animation in two minutes – narrated by Estonian animation masters ! Animation collectives Turun Anikistit and Paperihattu wishes Finnish Animation a happy anniversary!

Turun Anikistit ry:

Wurmloch

Finland, 2016. 13 minutes.

The film sets in Vienna in 1914, where a war veteran named Otto finds a wormhole to another universe. This sets off a love triangle that escalates to metaphysical dimensions.

Turun Anikistit ry:

Pink Phantom

Finland, 2019. 4 minutes.

An animation of false narrative about a pink hero.

Playlist –
Music Video Panorama

Part of TAFF’s non-competitive Panorama programme, Playlist showcases a selection of animated music videos from around the world. Just sit back, press play and let animation take the lead!

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 51min

Films in this screening:

Angèle Chiodo:

No Disco

France, 2025. 3 minutes.

Animals drink and dance to the rhythm of the beat. The party is scorching. The air is heavy. The club is humid. The atmosphere is clammy. The walls are oozing. The space fills with liquid. The wildlife is submerged.

Simone Caramazza:

C'era la Luna!

Italy, 2025. 3 minutes.

The video, presented as a degree thesis project, was born from the need to enhance the Pirandello Mines, a place rich in history, in Aragona, Agrigento, linked to sulfur and the figure of Luigi Pirandello, of which the family was the owner. The video is therefore born from the poetics of Pirandello’s works, combined with the suggestions of the place. There is no linear narrative but it presents itself as a dreamlike journey, also conducted following the music of Lero Lero, a band from Palermo that takes up the popular songs of Sicily.

Laura Spark:

Community Lives - OORYA

United Kingdom, 2025. 3 minutes.

A clay-mation video inspired by 80’s animated music videos and kids TV shows. Community Lives is a call to arms to build and expand our communities that love and fight and grow and resist together.

Sergii Bublyk:

Novyny (NEWS)

Ukraine, 2025. 3 minutes.

The video is a conversation with the viewer about the mutual influence between news and people: how news affects people, how people shape events, and how events in turn become news. The story unfolds across two worlds: the first (in color) is semi-realistic, while the second (in black and white) is abstract and metaphorical. These worlds complement each other, occasionally interact, and often flow seamlessly into one another.

Maxime Gillot, Régis Martin:

Tumultes

Belgium, 2026. 4 minutes.

When a gentle breeze turns into a storm, it may seem impossible to escape the gusts. The sudden flight of a paper airplane becomes a journey as it chooses its own path.

Winston W Hacking:

Duotone Handshake

Canada, 2026. 2 minutes.

An experimental short film investigating a new form of surface transformation through folding and collage. Concealed narratives begin to unfold through a relatively simple process. The film literally unpacks meaning where each crease reveals an image complexity that was hidden beneath the seemingly flat surface. Original score by electroacoustic and musique concrète composer Andrew Zukerman.

Philippa Rice:

We Are Always Here

-, 2026. 2 minutes.

Animation made using a technique where plasticine is used to print the impressions of toys and figurines. The song is from the perspective of the figurines, who exist around the house observing life. We are always here, you were not alone. The prints appear like ghosts sending a message from the past.

Louison Chambon:

The Mammal
(La Mammifère)

Belgium, 2025. 3 minutes.

A music video for the band Amande (Amandine Chevigny & Robin Rees)

David Kellner:

Jay & Bee

Austria, 2025. 6 minutes.

Musicians Bobby Conn and Monica BouBou retreat to the astral plane, leaving their imaginary companions DUKS and L.A.R.R.Y. behind. Alone, the curious pair discovers a mysterious bottle and drifts back from the astral plane through crude TV dreams into Earth’s fast-food gravity.

Lucia Schmidt:

Drunk Lament

Germany, 2025. 2 minutes.

Drunk Lament is a stop motion music video made entirely from hand-colored and cut-out video frames. The kaleidoscopic journey of an intoxicated mind, it is built from repetitive movements, loops and circles – fragments of memory that become more scattered as the character can’t stop revisiting them.

Inari Sirola:

You Are An Idiot

United Kingdom, 2025. 3 minutes.

A cathartic anthem for the absolute mad times we are living in!

Léon Chamelot:

Zgurlodyseev
(Zgurlodysee)

France, 2025. 3 minutes.

Four scientists find themselves stranded on an alien planet. They try to escape, but the planet exerts a mysterious force on them. Drawn to it, they begin exploring this new world, leaving behind all hope of returning.

Yasuhiro Higuchi:

Seed of a Star

Japan, 2025. 2 minutes.

One day, a few words casually spoken by my daughter quietly planted a seed in me. Guided by the gentleness of their sound and the poetic afterglow they left behind, I began to imagine a silent forest where stars drift down and small creatures quietly dwell.

Capucine Gougelet:

Like 1,2,3

France, 2025. 3 minutes.

In a moonlit nocturnal garden, Loud discovers a free and sensual world, where an extravagant party leads her from dances to mysteries…

Hornschuch Dirk:

Why the blues?
(Wieso denn Blues)

Germany, 2025. 4 minutes.

Despite all, our existence is in constant change, and we don’t like that. We can only trudge through the landscape and let everything happen to us. Why the Blues?

Alina Popescu:

Other I

France, 2025. 3 minutes.

In a vast cathedral devoted to a strange, otherworldly deity, a young girl offers gifts that begin as harmless token of devotion but escalate into brutal sacrifices of her own body. This haunting allegory asks what happens when blind faith and the comforts we never question demand more of us than we have to give.

Finding Yourself –
Junior 3

Junior 3 screening. This screening is suitable for viewers older than 12 years old.

Children under the age of 16 can get to the screening for free, but adults should buy tickets or a festival pass for themselves in our online store to avoid queuing. From our online store you can also buy 0€ tickets for kids to reserve their seats in the audience.

Duration: 42min

Films in this screening:

Malgorzata Rybak:

Experiences and learning. And parenting.

Poland, 2025. 5 minutes.

A lively kid named „O” is very curious and busy discovering the world around. Despite all the obstacles O manages to gather some personal experiences and to gain new skills. Will they prove useful? A short story told from a child’s perspective. For parents. And little humans.

Aisha Boudjillouli:

Eyeliner

United Kingdom, 2026. 8 minutes.

Nina and her best friend Lily decide to steal an eyeliner, hoping that they’ve finally found their key to womanhood. However, when given wildly different receptions to wearing it, Nina discovers that her journey as a trans girl might not be so easy.

Ru Kuwahata, Max Porter:

Cartoon Physics

France, Netherlands, Switzerland, 2026. 11 minutes.

A mother confronts her child’s first encounter with death by retreating into the impossible logic of old cartoons.

Robert Löbel, Max Mörtl:

TIME

Germany, 2025. 6 minutes.

TIME is a dystopian and darkly whimsical animated short, unfolding in fragmented vignettes where characters collide—each caught in their own rhythm of time. From the seemingly endless drift of an hourglass to the frantic pulse of a multitasking worker, the film paints a surreal mosaic of how time is perceived, stretched, fractured, and consumed.

Eloi Henriod:

Duck&Sauerkraut

Switzerland, 2025. 9 minutes.

Choucroute (Sauerkraut) is lonely and bored. A hungry duck flies past. Choucroute sees the duck as a remedy for his loneliness. The duck sees Choucroute as a meal.

Anh Tu Nguyen:

The Sky Was Candy

Germany, 2025. 3 minutes.

A yellow and blue day in the life of a little child.

Life in Rhythm –
Junior 2

Junior 2 screening. This screening is suitable for viewers older than 6 years old.

Duration: 42min

Films in this screening:

Zarja Menart:

The Wily Ones

Slovenia, 2026. 5 minutes.

Fragments of grandparents’ memories take us back to days when the world smelled of rivers, forests, and freshly manured fields. People were tough, cows and horses were trusted sidekicks, and children ran on curious freedom and clever tricks, always ready to turn chores into pranks.

David Bombardier:

Hymne anonyme

Canada, 2025. 3 minutes.

Anonymous Hymn gives voice to the forgotten objects of Montreal’s streets. Pareidolia and opera intertwine to reveal hidden, singing faces that transform the “ugly” into beauty. A brief tribute to the small, invisible presences quietly animating our everyday world.

Janka Feiner:

Fire in My Pocket

Hungary, 2026. 10 minutes.

A little boy, bored with building a bed, seeks something more exciting. A mischievous fire creature lures him away, and despite his father’s attempts to keep order, the boy follows his new friend into a magical mushroom world where anything is possible.

Milán Kopasz:

HUM

Hungary, 2026. 3 minutes.

A playful, sound-driven stop motion short about the creative process: from the first spark, through flow, to the perfect idea and what follows, accompanied by an unusual choir.

Andrea Szelesová:

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!

Slovakia, 2025. 13 minutes.

Yios, a lonely mythical boy from the clouds, has trouble finding friends because his head shines like the sun – until he falls down to Earth, where everything changes.

Tomek Ducki:

Birds of Paradise
(Rajskie Ptaki)

Poland, 2025. 8 minutes.

Bird droppings. To most, a nuisance. But for a remarkable flock of flightless birds, they are the foundation of life itself. There is a delicate harmony in their hidden world – until one day when a mysterious object washes up on shore. What begins as curiosity sparks a profound shift, leading the flock into a new era of cultural and technological change. Once happy with simplicity, the birds now face the price of progress.

Falling Upwards –
Junior 1

Junior 1 screening. This screening is suitable for viewers of all ages, and it doesn’t contain any dialogue.

Duration: 34min

Films in this screening:

Jadwiga Ligęza:

Rock Song

United Kingdom, 2025. 6 minutes.

Rock Song is a story about a rolling rock – but really, it’s about getting hurt, picking up some cracks along the way, and slowly figuring out how to heal. It’s a stop-motion animation made entirely from hand-dyed fabrics.

Anna Dokuchaeva:

Worms

Switzerland, 2026. 2 minutes.

Legend has it that somewhere in the Swiss Alps, tiny worms live their hurried lives. They crawl, they eat, they dance across lush green meadows and stones – captured in one-of-a-kind footage of this rare phenomenon.

Marta Gennari:

Piccolo Piccolo

France, Switzerland, 2025. 9 minutes.

A tiny mouse, wanting to forget her little worries, decides one day to climb a very high mountain.

Dean Hamer:

The Race of Friendship
(Utrka prijateljstva)

Croatia, 2026. 7 minutes.

A race begins to finally prove who is faster, the Tortoise or the Hare. Both set off confident of victory, but halfway through they fall into a deep, dark pit. The Hare tries to climb the muddy walls, while the Tortoise digs for a way out, but to no avail. They realise that only by joining forces can they escape the pit. The initial hostility turns into friendship when, through joint efforts, they manage to find a way out.

Elena Walf:

Dancing Friend
(Tanzpartner)

Croatia, Germany, 2025. 5 minutes.

The caterpillar would love to dance with the bugs. But they make fun of the clumsy animal. Only the smallest bug is attracted to the caterpillar.

Noe Garcia:

Cloud Fish
(Poisson Nuage)

Belgium, France, 2025. 6 minutes.

A very tiny fish sails in a vast underwater city. Is he too small to see the world like the big ones do?

Heart of Home –
National Panorama

Welcome home! Part of TAFF’s non-competitive Panorama programme, this screening brings together brand-new films from Finland, showcasing what’s been brewing in the Finnish animation scene.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 20min

Films in this screening:

Jenni Koljonen, Elina Mikkola, Juulia Niiranen, Anna Rohesalu:

Tickler

Finland, 2025. 3 minutes.

In a world where others find joy in being tickled, a creature aspires to discover his own spark of happiness.

Komiya Tamaki:

MAMIMIMUMEMO

Finland, 2025. 7 minutes.

A city invaded by an alien entity – taking the shape of an extraterrestrial plant matter. The protagonist Mimu’s new born sister – Memo has become one of their kind, assuming the shape of a seed.

Laura Konttinen:

At the Height of the Third Day

Finland, 2025. 13 minutes.

The old photograph is leaving peacefully in its photo album when suddenly a wave washes it away to a wondrous post-memory realm. Changing shape, the photograph travels to a mysterious island and meets the wise Great Mollusc, the Crocodile Twins guarding the gate of oblivion and finally the Bird of Death, who arrives with a message: it’s time to let go and face the starry sky.

David John Graham:

Seven Years in Twitter

Finland, 2026. 3 minutes.

Today, social media quietly consumes nearly seven years of our lives on average.

Seven Years in Twitter is a hand-drawn, flip book-style animation that journeys through the endless scroll, capturing the noise, absurdity, humour and hostility that fill our feeds. As posts flicker past, the film reflects on what happens when digital distraction slowly replaces real presence and asks what those seven years might otherwise have held.

Onni Mäkilä:

Good Night, Bunny
(Good Night, Bunny )

Finland, 2026. 9 minutes.

Bunny and Teddy are best friends. They live a joyful life, playing and having fun every day. One fateful night, Teddy wakes up to find Bunny gone missing and a mysterious portal that has ripped open the fabric of their reality. On the other side awaits a strange world that Teddy must traverse to rescue their friend and together return to their own happy world once again.

Heikki Saikkonen:

White room

Finland, 2026. 8 minutes.

A person is thrown in a white room straight from birth and has to stay there for the rest of their life.

Oona November Pennanen:

I should be there, but I’m here

Finland, 2026. 7 minutes.

The hurrying figures battle against time. Some make it, while others must accept the closed gates.

Hilla "Northflowo" Sivill:

Safe for Work

Finland, 2026. 9 minutes.

Upon entering her new workplace in the heart of a large supercomputer, the female protagonist discovers that her and the computer have much in common.

Katariina Haukka:

Woollen Sock

Finland, 2026. 4 minutes.

Woollen sock wakes to a loud noise. Curiosity takes over the sock, and it finds a loud band of pots and pans. The little woollen sock is so captivated by the music and decides to join the chaotic band, not knowing yet what it will play.

Tommi Uskola:

The bus homeless

Finland, 2026. 17 minutes.

A homeless man attempts to get in contact with his bus travel mentor by bus in order to activate his bus ticket. His new bus homeless friends help him at the beginning of his new life.

Global Hits –
International Panorama

Global Hits brings together different styles, techniques and perspectives from across the globe. Panorama screenings are part of the non-competitive TAFF program, showcasing a diverse selection of the most daring and engaging contemporary animations.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 20min

Films in this screening:

Jon Frickey:

Ploo

Germany, 2025. 15 minutes.

“If it keeps starting over, it must be forever”, says the white moth. But a gentle whisper breathes in each dawn, “one day, all days will be gone”. Ploo blends attributes of vector graphics and screen display technology with the human condition.

Marcell Mostoha:

Subharmonics

Denmark, Hungary, 2025. 5 minutes.

Blooming glimpses of the ever-changing. Repetitions form a circle. Keys can be found in the depths of the unconscious.

Willy Fair:

Death's Peak

United Kingdom, 2025. 9 minutes.

Desperate for connection, David digs up his brother’s corpse. With their trusty red wagon, they ascend a treacherous mountain in pursuit of their childhood dream.

Antonie Zavadilová:

The Autoharp Crushing on Hot Guys

Czechia, 2026. 8 minutes.

A conversation between friends about relationships and feelings is developed in an imaginative, colorful animation. Despite their different life experiences, which are also influenced by the fact that one of the girls has Down syndrome and the other doesn‘t, they both deal with similar issues. What if they had The Autoharp Crushing on Hot Guys.

Mike Ogston, Ryan Von Hagen:

Mind Game

Canada, 2026. 9 minutes.

Mind Game was created from over 3000 drawings made between the years 1967 and 1998. These drawings were not created with animation in mind, instead each piece was intended to capture movement within a still frame. In 2024, with the help of the Quickdraw Animation Society, the natural patterns and progressive movements in these drawings were put into sequence and animated.

Yoo Lee:

A Man Who Takes Pictures of Flowers

United States, 2025. 13 minutes.

Jung Myung Kim, a photographer who has dedicated over 40 years to capturing wildflowers in Korea, shares his story of pursuing his passion for capturing flowers. Kim finds meaning and happiness in reflecting on his body of work, and his desire to take more pictures keeps him going as he battles an illness.

Sakshi Jain:

So Many Different Things

United States, 2025. 3 minutes.

A gridded series of over 1500 improvised drawings in a tiny sketchbook, each smaller than a centimeter, compiled digitally into an animation.

Wing Yan Lilian Fu:

The Hole

United Kingdom, 2025. 8 minutes.

In an opulent estate park where laughter and leisure are quietly policed, a stern security guard devotes himself to enforcing silence and order. But as he witnesses the joy he forbids, cracks form in his resolve—until the urge to break free overwhelms him, unleashing a rebellion not just against the park’s rules, but against his own repression.

Anna Mantzaris:

Please

Czechia, Finland, France, Norway, Sweden, 2026. 9 minutes.

PLEASE is a dark comedy about humankind’s desire to love and to be loved. An animated short centred around neediness, intimacy and romance. (In a world that preaches self-control, the film explores the sides we try to hide, such as feeling needy and pathetic.)

Finnish Gems –
National Competition

Finnish Gems showcases some of the most exciting new Finnish animated shorts, from hand-drawn films to stop-motion, and from stark monochrome imagery to vibrant bursts of colour. These competition films balance light-hearted stories with more serious themes, featuring, among other things, a dreamy cowboy on a bicycle, disco-fuelled midnight dances, and a few rabbits and squirrels.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 20min

Films in this screening:

Jesse Lähilehto:

Interspace
(Etäisyyksiä)

Finland, 2026. 15 minutes.

On a dark autumn night, a rabbit and a squirrel set out to recreate an unexplainable phenomenon the rabbit had experienced at a house party. While making their way to a distant field, the rabbit recounts the events of the party shadowed by uncertainty, awe, and a longing for connection.

Sofia Liukonen:

Womenfolk
(Naisväki)

Finland, 2025. 5 minutes.

A middle-aged housewife is burnt out, but she’ll soon find her joy again, when an unexpected nightly encounter takes her to a dance that will change her whole community.

Lara Fuke:

a body without a horse?
(um corpo sem cavalo?)

Portugal, Finland, 2026. 9 minutes.

In an attempt to identify itself, a body without a horse moves through its absences and voids.

Clara Trevisan:

Mother of Dawn
(Mãe da Manhã)

Brazil, Finland, 2025. 8 minutes.

In the void of night, a hungry creature looks for food and perpetuates an everyday cycle.

Erika Weiste, Aki Viikilä:

Kai

Finland, 2026. 5 minutes.

Kai is a coming-of-age story about Paavo, who struggles to fit into the heteronormative environment of a small Finnish town in the 90s and the rigid, uncommunicative male culture surrounding him. A new world opens up when Kai — a shimmering, fairy-tale-like being — enters the picture. However, a shared experience of being different is not always enough to bring people together.

Javier Fabregas:

I’d Rather Be a Concorde

Colombia, Finland, 2025. 8 minutes.

The story of an immigrant and his companion guide Wizard saying ·“Hello” to new unknown lands. In this experimental film that recreates old fantasy video games through irony, the characters face strange situations and places that allude to the absurd nature of the immigrant’s journey: its ideas of achievement, monotony, and expectation.

Tzor Edery:

Breaking The Ice

Finland, 2025. 7 minutes.

Cece is a dissatisfied DJ with dreams of somewhere warmer and a fuller inbox. Mimi is an overworked supermarket cashier who just wants to let loose and find a deeper connection. They are brought together on New Year’s Eve by a series of mundane coincidences and the power of imagination.

Tomi Malkki:

The Witch

Finland, 2025. 8 minutes.

How did I learn to fly? Ps. The use of the lessons for military purposes is strictly prohibited!

Lara Jaydha:

Still Life

Belgium, Finland, 2025. 6 minutes.

On a split screen two parallel and contrasting narratives unfold. The world of art and the realm of the everyday are integrally connected and yet hugely disparate. A pair of hands working relentlessly inside a home fade away; while a painting hanging quietly in a museum gains fame.

Niina Suominen:

Mindfullmess

Finland, 2026. 6 minutes.

A celebration of neurodiversity. Scattered stimuli dissolve thought into noise—yet within the chaos, a new order emerges as perception shifts into a bodily experience of rhythm and movement, image and sound. What first appears senseless leaves behind traces that may, after all, hold meaning.

Juho Maurinen:

Richard the Dream Cowboy

Finland, 2026. 5 minutes.

Richard goes on a cycling trip filled with freedom, fantasy and love.

When in Doubt –
International Competition 5

The fifth screening of the international competition showcases fragile bodies and shifting identities. Through inventive techniques such as animated MRI scans, handpainted ghostly figures and meticulously crafted stop motion, these films explore what happens when reality bends, or totally breaks. Dark, playful and surprising – and impossible to look away from.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 21min

Films in this screening:

Zharko Ivanov:

The Long coming of the fire

North Macedonia, 2024. 5 minutes.

In The Long Coming of the Fire, a short animation inspired by the poem of the same name by the poet Atso Shopov, the director of the film confronts his father’s terminal illness and the transience of life. The film is mainly composed of animated MRI scans of the now late parent.

Pauline Carette:

Aquarium

Belgium, 2026. 6 minutes.

A man remains strangely unperturbed as a water leak progressively floods his house.

Laurence Thérien:

Ball Face

United Kingdom, 2026. 5 minutes.

Life throws curveballs, whether you catch them or not. It’s how you react that determines whether you survive. Ball face follows a middle school girl who, terrified of sports, survives a chaotic ball game by accidentally bouncing a ball off her face, discovering an unconventional tactic that leads to victory. By the end of the game, she’s completely transformed.

Lilli Carré:

Evacuations

United States, 2025. 7 minutes.

Painted formless figures haunt recent photos of emptied-out public spaces. As cell-animated smear frames, they perform various repetitive acts in these settings, with movements expressing the helpless, frantic energy felt in our current moment. Earth and organs are emptied, situations are fled. The figures become displaced from their locations, as their environments dissolve and their printed record evaporates.

Lea Favre:

Hunting
(Qui part à la chasse)

Switzerland, 2025. 11 minutes.

Today, Lea is going in search of a subject for a documentary film. When she believes she’s finally caught her prey, the roles end up being reversed. The hunter becomes the hunted.

LeoLuna ROBERT-TOURNEUR:

My name is Lilith

Belgium, France, 2025. 14 minutes.

My name is Lilith. I am the first woman created alongside Adam. My encounter with Eve will shatter every stereotype that we’ve been trapped in.

Ilya Barrett:

TAUT

Germany, 2025. 6 minutes.

Stringo the Stunted Wellow doesn’t fit in with his flock. While they stay still when the wind blows, Stringo jerks and twitches. Life isn’t what it used to be, but he’s okay with that—his world is quiet and calm. One day, a scary, hand-shaped creature enters their grove. The others pretend to be dead, but Stringo’s movements get him noticed. The creature grabs him and drags him away. Stringo fights back and wins, but he’s changed. When he returns, his flock doesn’t recognize or accept him. With nowhere left to go, Stringo lets the wind carry him.

Maria Cristina Perez Gonzalez:

Once in a body
(Una vez en una cuerpa)

Colombia, United States, 2025. 10 minutes.

While dealing with a strange being that lives inside her, a woman seeks to reconcile with her sister over an incident from their adolescence. By exploring the experiences they share through their bodies, she manages to confront the nature of what inhabits her.

Sylwia SZKIŁĄDŹ:

Autokar

Belgium, France, 2025. 17 minutes.

In the 1990s, 8-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Through her eyes, the reality of migration becomes an initiatory experience.

Memory & Matter –
International Competition 4

What are memories made of? In this international competition screening, family histories, childhood memories, and traces of the past are animated to life through remarkable craftsmanship. Through tactile stop motion, hand-drawn animation and inventive materials, these films remind us that matter really does matter.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 20min

Films in this screening:

Radheya Jang:

Trading Cards

Australia, United Kingdom, 2026. 15 minutes.

An enigmatic man journeys back in time to find his younger self, seemingly to revisit the nostalgia of trading cards. An exploration of identity, mental health and the erosion of childhood innocence, Trading Cards is a dark fantasy animated film about the weight of living with Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Florian Schönerstedt:

Invisible Walls
(Murs Invisibles)

France, 2025. 5 minutes.

This film is made from a stop motion sequence consisting solely of pieces of glass harvested on the shores of the Mediterranean. They were collected in a logic of ‘care’ for surveyed natural spaces. Symbol of the forces of nature that overwhelm us and slowly transform the artifacts we leave behind. The title is a direct reference to Marlene Haushofer’s book, Le mur invisible, which describes a feminine Robinsonnade.

Elizabeth Hobbs:

Daughters of the Late Colonel

United Kingdom, 2026. 9 minutes.

After the death of their ill-tempered and controlling father, two middle-aged sisters find themselves at a loss. An unexpected visitor sparks the courage in them to begin their lives anew.

Henri Veermäe:

Uka-uka

Estonia, 2026. 12 minutes.

Battling boredom, a little boy gets trapped in the boot of a car. When he gets out, he’s no longer the same.

Abigél Dérczy:

Ř

Czechia, 2025. 3 minutes.

Since 2022, I have been visiting the Czech Republic regularly, simply because I really enjoy being here. Every time I talk to someone Czech, the conversation somehow often ends up in the same place: the letter Ř. People tell me how difficult it is to pronounce, some even spent years learning to say it properly.

Rachel Shiloach:

Me and You and Smoke

United Kingdom, 2025. 8 minutes.

A fire ignites, and a boy’s fantasies about a girl dissolve into a haunting reality he can’t escape.

Lola Degove:

Le bain des Sirenes

France, 2026. 15 minutes.

Every year, Rose and Lina, two sisters who aren’t particularly close, have to make the trip to Ostend in Belgium for the traditional New Year’s Day swim imposed by their mother. Problem: she is no longer there… she’s dead.

Between a wild boar, a disco lady, and knights, Rose and Lina try to get along.

Yini GUO:

Plankton α
(プランクトン α)

Japan, 2026. 4 minutes.

Within microscopic life, I see loneliness overlapping with a longing for something. There, a gentle waver seems to carry a hope to belong somewhere, or perhaps a wish to remain pure.

Areito Echevarria:

The Amazing Adam!

New Zealand, 2025. 9 minutes.

A young boy explores the darkest depths of his grumpy grandfather’s garage, where he’s confronted by the surreal memories of the man he thought he knew.

Found in Translation –
International Competition 3

Feeling lost? You’ve wandered into the right screening. In the third international competition screening, misunderstandings grow into absurdity, meanings change shape and animation speaks its own wonderfully peculiar language. Expect sharp humour, diverse techniques, and fearless experimentation. Some things really are only found in translation.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 20min

Films in this screening:

Conor Kehelly:

A PINT OF BITTER

Ireland, 2025. 9 minutes.

You are trying to enjoy a quiet pint in the pub but a patron and his son seemingly have a problem with your demeanour.

Ian Kelewae:

O' Bingo!

United States, 2025. 5 minutes.

An old lady walks her dog and a Magical plant finds canine camaraderie in midst of the chaos of human ownership.

Juan Camilo González:

Decay
(Decaer)

Colombia, 2025. 7 minutes.

I am grateful to the Chinese for the invention of gunpowder — it feels as if they made it for me.

Maria Karlovic:

Tourists

France, Slovakia, 2025. 15 minutes.

A routine work trip for married couple Hana and Kornel suddenly turns into an adventurous struggle for survival. In a remote forest, far from civilization, they are forced to face not only the wilderness, but also the fragile terrain of their long-term, stagnant relationship.

Sam KUWA:

So He Grabbed the Knife

Japan, 2026. 12 minutes.

The boy takes the knife his father once gave him. Did what followed make him a “man”?

Winston Hacking:

Action Bog

Canada, 2025. 1 minutes.

A feverish stasis collapses into infinite distraction, spinning on the axis of an algorithm. Each pulse, an uncertain tone, breathes electricity into a half-alive world. Time stretches like soft polymer; metamorphoses creep forward frame by frame, suspiciously slow, as if the film were watching me back.

Shunyuan Yao:

Taming Phenomena

Estonia, 2025. 10 minutes.

A short film that depicts a metamorphosis from “chicken” to “elephant”: animation enables metamorphosis precisely because it realizes a transformation from image to concept. This frame-based, time-driven movement not only constructs form, but also grants images a capacity for expansion that static objects lack. Just as chickens and elephants are not only natural creatures but also carry distinct cultural meanings in human society, Taming Phenomena presents an animated dialogue from chicken to elephant, through an exploration of cinematic and animation techniques and production methods.

Daiyu LI:

When The Mountains Shook

Japan, 2025. 2 minutes.

The world that appears calm on the surface is, in fact, quietly changing. One day, a man as unshakable as a mountain fell because of a toothache.

Theodor Ushev:

La vie avec un idiot

France, 2025. 18 minutes.

Accused by the authorities of not working hard enough, Vladimir’s punishment is to live with an idiot. He chooses him from an insane asylum, and his name is Vova. This idiot can only pronounce one syllable: ouh.

Spaced Out –
International Competition 2

Spaced Out takes you through stars, memories and dreams. The second screening of the international competition brings together tender human connections, hand-drawn worlds and surreal visual experiments that are touching, funny and wonderfully strange. Everyone gets a little spaced out sometimes – so let your thoughts wander!

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 20min

Films in this screening:

Alex Rey:

Poor Marciano
(Pobre Marciano)

Spain, 2025. 7 minutes.

The name you are given at birth can mark your destiny. Marciano knows a lot about that, who only wants a friend to sing with… But the universe always conspires to make your dreams come true.

Jelena Milunović:

Floating

Serbia, 2025. 7 minutes.

A daughter gradually realizes that her father is struggling with mental illness. Isolated and rejected by society, he lives alone in a dark apartment, drifting like a balloon. She tries to find a way to reconnect and bring him back to solid ground.

Yeonwoo Kim:

Fingerbang

South Korea, 2026. 15 minutes.

Rejected by everyone, a woman follows a mysterious finger into a surreal realm, where a tender yet unsettling touch slowly begins to twist her reality.

Diego Akel:

January Notes
(Notas de Janeiro)

Brazil, 2026. 4 minutes.

Some notes on a particular January.

Zsuzsanna Kreif:

Adgwa Ata

France, Hungary, 2026. 15 minutes.

Abducted into a jungle tribe’s brutal initiation, three adolescent girls enter a divine dimension—where taming their soul animals, giant snakes become the only path to adulthood.

Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim:

Acid City

United States, 2026. 13 minutes.

A documentary film crew visits a flooded city in the middle of a great acidic ocean.

Tanja Nuijten:

Sensual

Germany, 2025. 4 minutes.

“Sensual” offers an unusual, subjective, and deeply intimate perspective on the feeling of physical closeness and tenderness. Using animal metaphors, the film takes us on a journey through the intimate emotions of the foreplay, unfolding into the gentle and loving touches of our partner.

Leo Cernic:

Cosmonauts

Italy, Slovenia, 2026. 14 minutes.

On an intergalactic cruise for singles, lonely souls chase a kiss, a caress, or just a glimpse of love among the stars.

Born from Fragments –
International Competition 1

Even the biggest worlds can begin as tiny pieces. Across this international competition screening, bodies, families, planets and entire ecosystems are animated to life. Beautiful, bizarre and at times unsettling, these films combine experimental techniques, mythical creation stories, fleshy creatures, bison goddesses, gym bros and much more. Trust us, you don’t want to miss this one!

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Duration: 1h 21min

Films in this screening:

Xie Li:

A Taste of Beer

China, 2025. 5 minutes.

A son came home and told his father that he had won the school football game, so his father wanted his son’s glory to be seen by everyone.

Živa Divjak:

Our Walls

Czech Republic, 2026. 7 minutes.

An animated documentary that, through an intimate conversation between a daughter and a mother, searches for understanding and explores family bonds. The film reveals the inner conflict between freedom and sacrifice. Gradually, walls that connect and confine us across generations emerge, shaping who we are to ourselves and to one another.

Kiana Naghshineh:

With Tapes and Toasts in the Car
(Im Auto Tapes und Butterbrot)

Germany, 2025. 14 minutes.

In the face of her body fading into stardust, Shari realizes what truly matters to her.

Karolina Chabier:

KOSMOGONIA

France, 2025. 15 minutes.

In an endless night, The Great One, a bison goddess, meets The Small One, a goat-like goddess. A friendship settles between them and with it a new world: the stars, the sun, the earth and living beings emerge. The animals leave the waters, grow, and a luxuriant forest appears. As the world evolves, the two goddesses are overtaken by their power of creation.

Quirijn Dees:

Symbionts

Switzerland, 2025. 9 minutes.

Symbionts traces an organic cycle of interaction within an unfamiliar ecosystem, revealing its radiant elegance as well as its unrelenting violence.

Daan Lucas:

Life of the Organoid

Netherlands, 2025. 4 minutes.

On a pale savanna plain lives the Organoid, a strange fleshy creature that eats, drinks, and sleeps. In the distance, a menacing figure approaches. When the Organoid notices, it flees, only to discover the figure is a fellow of its kind. In a mating ritual they merge into a pulsating tower that hurls new life into the world. A new Organoid rises, and the cycle begins again.

Anna MURIE:

SCREAM! IT'S GROWING!
(HURLE ! ÇA POUSSE !)

France, 2026. 3 minutes.

Social media lies to us. No, we can’t all become, overnight, an imposing muscle machine, sexy and topped with abundant hair. Well yes, we can, but at what cost ? A colorful and pop tour of the not-so-wonderful world of gym bros.

Niles Atallah:

Merrimundi

Chile, 2025. 21 minutes.

A twisted utopia unfolds, as singing cherubs melt to the sound of decay. Crafted by a sentient machine from the future, it unveils its own version of paradise.

05.01.2026

The 11th edition of the Turku Animated Film Festival will be held in Turku, Finland, August 26-30, 2026. TAFF will celebrate creativity and the art of animation with screenings during five days.

Submissions for TAFF 2026 are open until March 31. Submit your work via the link below.

submit your film

TAFF offers a wide range of competitions for animated shorts. For the International Competition, International Student Film Competition, TAFF Junior Competition and National Competition we are looking for original, bold, uncompromising & inventive animated shorts under 30 minutes to compete for Grand Prix, Best Professional Film, Best Student Film, Tough Eye award, TAFF Junior Award, Main Prize in National Competition and Audience award in International Competition. In addition, the festival programme consists of a seductive selection of carefully selected special programme.

The Competition is open for short animated films that have been completed after 1st of January 2025.

TAFF takes place in Turku, a city dedicated to art, culture and festivals. Our venues are a beautifully restored old factory milieu Manilla and the freshly-opened Arthouse Turku in the Old town. Both are situated by the River Aura in Turku, Finland. TAFF is organized by the non-profit Association Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry.