The 16th Kuandu International Animation Festival returns to the Arts and Ecology Building at Taipei National University of the Arts from October 25–31, 2026, with free admission to every in-person screening and special presentation.
△ The key visual for the 2026 Kuandu International Animation Festival. Designed by TNUA animation student Tzu-Han Huang, this year’s artwork gives the festival’s beloved KuanDog mascot a stylish new look. Watch the promotional video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouOabmr_4E
This year’s Kuandu International Animation Festival is curated by Joe Hsieh, whose "Praying Mantis" won at the 2025 Golden Horse Awards and took the Grand Prize for Short Animation at the 2026 Ottawa International Animation Festival. Hsieh will bring together acclaimed filmmakers and scholars from Taiwan, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Hong Kong. Spanning independent art shorts and classics by animation masters, the program connects animation education with real-world creative practice while bringing an ambitious international perspective to the festival.
This year’s KuanDog Prize drew an incredible 2,390 submissions from 103 countries. Sixty finalists and nine noncompetition selections made the final cut, with contenders competing for Best Animated Short Film, Best Student Film, the Taiwan Special Award, the Taiwan Student Award, and Best Taiwan Film Score.
- Curator Spotlight: A Joe Hsieh Retrospective X Golden Horse Winner Chen Shu-Fang
One of this year’s major highlights is a retrospective devoted to curator Joe Hsieh. Known for using hand-drawn animation to explore the darker and more satirical sides of human nature, Hsieh has developed an unmistakable style steeped in horror and the grotesque. The program charts that creative evolution from early works such as "Meat Days" and "The Present" to his acclaimed recent shorts "Night Bus" and "Praying Mantis." Following the screening, Hsieh will join Golden Horse-winning actress Chen Shu-Fang, his voice collaborator on two projects, for an in-depth industry talk.
- Opening Film: "Death Does Not Exist"
Canadian director Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s surreal fantasy feature "Death Does Not Exist" will open this year’s festival. The film follows a woman haunted by traumatic memories after abandoning her companions, weaving between reality and illusion as it examines humanity’s fixation on life, death, love, and desire. Selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the feature also received Annecy’s Jury Special Distinction for an Original Soundtrack.
- Closing Film: "A Mighty Adventure"
The festival will close with "A Mighty Adventure," a 3D animated feature from Hong Kong director Toe Yuen that was nominated at the 2025 Golden Horse Film Festival. Combining live-action Taiwanese streets with expressive, dialogue-free performances, the movie drops viewers into the miniature world of its insect heroes, transforming familiar everyday scenery into a pulse-pounding adventure of discovery and self-exploration. Producer Chen Yi-Ching will attend a post-screening discussion to share stories from behind the production.
△ Canadian director Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Cannes-selected "Death Does Not Exist" (left) opens the festival, while Golden Horse-nominated animated feature "A Mighty Adventure" (right), directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Toe Yuen, brings the event to an emotional close.
Beyond its high-profile opening and closing features, this year’s Kuandu International Animation Festival offers an extensive slate of special programs spanning international filmmaking, academia, experimental animation, and contemporary issues:
Opening Event: Yuri Yamamura Movement Performance and Sketching Workshop
Japanese contemporary circus artist and juggler Yuri Yamamura will deliver a special performance during the festival’s opening festivities. TNUA animation students will also be invited to participate in an on-site movement workshop and live sketching session.
Koji Yamamura Retrospective and Post-Screening Discussion
Award-winning Japanese experimental animation director Koji Yamamura, whose work has collected more than 150 international honors, will appear in person to discuss his artistic vision. The accompanying retrospective will showcase highlights from two decades of filmmaking, beginning with his work from 2002.
Taiwan Industry Talks & Conversations
Director Wan-Ling Liu, who created the official key visual for the 12th Arles Short Film Festival in France, will discuss her experience in directing, writing, and post-production. She will also present "The Egret River," her animated short selected for the 2023 Golden Horse Film Festival. Additional programs include the Joe Hsieh retrospective; a presentation by Jack Shih, director of the family-favorite series "A-Nee-Gu Fights the Imaginational Bugs," on developing IP through cross-industry collaborations; and a talk by contemporary artist Zhang Xu-Zhan, whose "Compound Eyes of Tropical" won Best Animated Short Film at the Golden Horse Awards, exploring his fusion of regional folk crafts and contemporary video art as well as the possibilities of experimental animation. Cheng-Hsu Chung, whose boldly visual films such as "The Rubbings of Trajectories" have screened at Annecy and Sundance, will reveal how he brought his singular creative perspective to the international stage.
The popular TNUA animation alumni showcase will also return this year. The lineup includes Angel Wu, whose fantastical realist short "Force Times Displacement" has appeared at major festivals; Hsu Chih-Chen, currently studying at Tokyo University of the Arts, with the experimental animated short "I," selected for the 2025 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival; and Wei-Fan Wang, whose "HEY DAD" screened at Annecy and Animafest Zagreb. Wang will present "Gardens," a short co-directed with Wang Wei, the artist behind an exhibition of original artwork from the comic "Bat." The festival’s final showcase will be the eagerly anticipated annual TNUA Night, featuring the latest work by students from the university’s Department of Animation and spotlighting the extraordinary creative energy of Taiwan’s next generation of filmmakers.
International Industry Talks & Conversations
Joe King of the Royal College of Art’s Animation MA program will present a selection of RCA student films and discuss interdisciplinary creation and experimental animation education. The Korean Independent Animation Filmmakers Association will bring a compelling program led by directors including KIM Jinman and CHON Jiyoung, who will share their creative experiences with the audience. The festival will also screen Japanese director Ryuya Suzuki’s animated feature "Jinsei," an ambitious solo production that stunned international festival audiences with its sweeping journey through a long and turbulent life.
△ The special programs spotlight experimental animation from Japan and Taiwan: Wan-Ling Liu’s Golden Horse-nominated "The Egret River" (left), Japanese animation master Koji Yamamura’s Oscar-nominated classic "Mt. Head" (center), and Zhang Xu-Zhan’s Golden Horse-winning "Compound Eyes of Tropical" (right). All three filmmakers will present screenings and special talks.
Find more details here: the official KDIAF website and Instagram.
The 2026 Kuandu International Animation Festival runs from October 25–31 at the Arts and Ecology Building at Taipei National University of the Arts. Admission to every in-person screening and lecture is free, and animation fans, film and television professionals, students, and faculty are all invited to attend. Beyond the main venue, this year’s touring screening and outreach program will connect eight arts organizations and educational institutions across Taiwan: the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei; Hualien Railway Cinema; the Kaohsiung Autism Association; the Taoyoukewei Charity Association; Guandu Elementary School in Taipei; Danhai Elementary School in New Taipei City; National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University; and National Chengchi University. The 16th Kuandu International Animation Festival is ready to begin, inviting audiences to experience a full-scale celebration of animation and visual storytelling.
△ The complete festival schedule.
Dates: October 25–31, 2026
Venue: Arts and Ecology Building, Taipei National University of the Arts
Admission: Free for all events!
Ready to follow the sharply dressed, tuxedo-clad KuanDog butler through the doors of this grand hall of light and shadow? We’ll see you in Kuandu on October 25!