The 2026 Festival took place at Storyhouse between Friday 13th March to Sunday 22nd March 2026 and incorporated the 12th Chester Animation Festival 2026.

The films featured, and audience scores, were:

• DJ Ahmet (8.45)
• Rose of Nevada (7.09)
• Primavera (8.73)
• La Grazia (8.26)
• The Stranger (7.10)
• Orphan (6.63)
• Romería ( 7.25)
• Orwell 2+2=5 (8.21)
• Miroirs No. 3 ( 7.71)
• The Blue Trail (7.04)
• Exit 8 (7.73)
• Our Land (7.52)
• Colours of Time (9.22 *Audience Award*) and
• Father Mother Sister Brother (6.57)

In the Animation Festival, the Leaping Boar Award for best short animation was won jointly by:

• Cell Buddies by Studio Brute Beesten (Netherlands) and
• Small Hours by Oscar Wyndham Lewis (UK).

For more details, click here to go to the Storyhouse web page.