12 Canada-Based Animation Talents Pushing Boundaries at Home and Abroad
Canada continues to be a powerhouse in the world of animation, with its filmmakers consistently pushing the boundaries of storytelling and visual artistry. At the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, several Canadian talents are showcasing their latest works, reflecting the country's diverse and innovative animation scene.
Below, we profile 12 of the most exciting animation talents working in Canada today. We stress that this is not necessarily a list of Canadian talents, but rather of artists who ply their trade in Canada, one of the most welcoming industries to foreigners in the world.
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Alex Boya
Alex Boya is a Bulgarian-born, Montreal-based animator renowned for his surreal, hand-drawn storytelling. A graduate of Concordia University's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Boya gained early recognition with NFB shorts like 'Focus' (2014) and 'Turbine' (2018). His latest work, 'Bread Will Walk,' is an experimental short that premiered at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and is now set to compete at Annecy. The film, voiced entirely by Jay Baruchel, follows a sister fleeing with her bread-turned-zombie brother through a society consumed by hunger. Crafted as a continuous shot blending anatomical illustration, digital collage and textured ink, it critiques overconsumption and dehumanization.
Andrea Dorfman
Dorfman is a Halifax-based filmmaker, animator and illustrator whose work spans short and feature-length films. Known for blending heartfelt storytelling with hand-crafted visuals, she's directed award-winning films like 'Flawed' and 'The Girls of Meru.' At Annecy this year, she presents two animated shorts: 'Hairy Legs,' in official competition, and the poignant 'How to Be at Home,' a viral hit created in collaboration with poet Tanya Davis that demonstrates a real talent for pairing visuals with spoken word. She also directs music videos and illustrates, showcasing her creative voice across several diverse mediums.
Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski are the visionary duo behind Clyde Henry Productions, a Montreal-based studio acclaimed for its surreal stop-motion artistry. Their breakout film, 'Madame Tutli-Putli' (2007), garnered an Academy Award nomination and won the Canal+ Grand Prize at Cannes. In 2025, they return with 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls,' a 15-minute animated short selected for competition at Annecy. The film weaves a dark fairy tale about a girl whose tears transform into pearls, exploring themes of grief, greed and transformation. Continuing their tradition of blending tactile puppetry with digital innovation, Lavis and Szczerbowski reaffirm their status as pioneers in contemporary animation.
Colin Ludvic Racicot
Colin Ludvic Racicot is a Canadian animator and filmmaker based in Montreal, celebrated for his emotionally resonant storytelling and distinctive visual style. A graduate of Concordia University's Film Production program, Racicot has been directing short films since 2010. His latest animated short, 'Where Rabbits Come From,' is a 15-minute, dialogue-free film that explores a widowed rabbit father's efforts to bring wonder into his daughter's life within a dystopian world. The film garnered significant critical acclaim, winning best animated short at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards and qualifying for the 2025 Oscars.
Dale Hayward, Sylvie Trouvé
Hayward and Trouvé are the co-founders of Montreal-based Sea Creature, a studio specializing in stop-motion animation. Their work blends traditional craftsmanship with digital innovation, as showcased in their award-winning short film 'Bone Mother' (2018). The duo met while working at Cuppa Coffee Studios in Toronto and later moved to Montreal to pursue independent projects. In 2020, they launched See Learn Academy, an educational platform dedicated to teaching animation fundamentals through stop-motion techniques. Their collaborative approach continues to influence the animation community both in Canada and internationally. Their recent work, 'Hanging By a Thread,' plays in this year's Commissioned Films competition.
Eric San AKA Kid Koala
Eric San, known professionally as Kid Koala, is a Canadian artist celebrated for his innovative fusion of music, animation and storytelling. While he initially gained acclaim as a scratch DJ and composer, his recent venture into animation has garnered significant attention, scoring him an Annecy selection of his debut feature 'Space Cadet' at this year's festival. The dialogue-free feature, based on his 2011 graphic novel, premiered at Berlin earlier this year. It explores themes of love, loss and intergenerational connection through the story of a young astronaut and her guardian robot. Kid Koala's unique approach to animation is also evident in his live multimedia performances like Nufonia Must Fall and The Storyville Mosquito, where he combines puppetry, live music and real-time filmmaking to create immersive experiences.
Justice Rutikara
Justice Rutikara is a Rwandan-born, Quebec-based animator and filmmaker whose work explores memory, identity and resilience. His 2024 animated short 'Ibuka, Justice' recounts his family's escape from the 1994 Rwandan genocide through poetic 2D animation and firsthand testimony. The film premiered at RIDM and DOK Leipzig, and is screening in Annecy's Perspectives section. Rutikara, who studied international studies at Université de Montréal, has also worked in theater and fiction film. His concept of 'harmonic chaos' drives his storytelling, blending emotional depth with formal experimentation to amplify underrepresented Afro-Quebec and diasporic voices.
Marie Valade
Marie Valade is a Quebec-based animator and Concordia University alumna known for her intimate, body-centered storytelling. Her 2021 short film 'Boobs' ('Lolos') uses rotoscoping and cut-out animation to explore a woman's evolving relationship with her breasts. The film premiered at Annecy, won the National Dada Prize at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and was named to TIFF's Canada's Top Ten. It also earned nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards and Quebec Cinema Awards. In 2019, Valade was named co-director of Festival Stop Motion Montréal and she is an alum of the NFB's Hothouse program, continuing to champion bold, feminist voices in animation.
Seth Scriver, Pete Scriver
Seth and Pete Scriver are Canadian half-brothers and co-directors of the animated documentary 'Endless Cookie,' screening at this year's festival. Seth, a Toronto-based animator and illustrator, previously co-directed 'Asphalt Watches,' which won Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF 2013. Pete, a Cree storyteller and former chief of Shamattawa First Nation in Manitoba, brings his lived experiences to the film. 'Endless Cookie' blends lo-fi animation with real-life audio to explore their familial bond, cultural identity and shared history. Premiering at Sundance and screening at Hot Docs and Annecy, the film has been praised for its humor, warmth and innovative storytelling.
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