Past Events

Hélène, the local schoolteacher, meets Paul, returning home to take over his family’s butcher business after years away as a soldier with a capacity for violence. Against the provincial background, a courtship begins, and a few locals start turning up dead. Hélène suspects Paul, but the ultimate suspense lays in how she will react when the murderer is revealed.

Hélène flees into the forest after a failed armed attack on wealthy landowners, where she is haunted by her friend and accomplice, forcing her to reckon with her convictions and choices.

For this edition of Animation First, five teams of 4th-year École MoPA students have been commissioned to create original 25-second shorts celebrating this year’s Belgium Focus. These specially produced films will be shown in theatres ahead of all features and shorts—spotlighting the next generation of animation talent.

The eclectic New Francophone Shorts (NFS) programs bring together the best of new animated creations from emerging and established filmmakers. Selections are chosen from lauded festivals including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Cannes Films Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and Anima —The Brussels Animation Film Festival.

Oscar nominated directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski—co-founders of Montreal stop-motion studio Clyde Henry Productions—examine the evolution of cinematic puppetry as it relates to their newest film, The Girl Who Cried Pearls.

Back for its sixth year, the Animation First Student Short Film Competition highlights the work of emerging talent from some of the most renowned animation schools in France and the United States. Prizes are awarded for Best French Student Short and Best American Student Short.

Samuel Ribeyron, set designer of The Songbirds’ Secret, will delve into the process of making the film, his craft and techniques and the choices that the artistic team made to create this ambitious film with paper cut-outs and stop-motion.

The Making of The Songbirds’ Secret will be preceded by the screening of the film at 2pm.

This program spotlights the work of leading Belgian directing duo Emma and Marc with two shorts featuring their delicately-crafted felt puppets: Oh Willy… and This Magnificent Cake!

9-year-old Lucie, guided by a pair of birds, uncovers her family history in this little miracle of a film, created with paper cutouts and over 2,000 puppets.

Each year, Animation First invites a leading artist to create a unique festival poster, celebrating the art of animation. This year’s poster was created by Oscar-nominated director Ugo Bienvenu (Arco), who will be presenting his film at Animation First on Thursday, February 5 at French Animation at the 2026 Oscars.