A Nigerian short film will compete for a prize at the world’s most prestigious animation festival for the first time in the event’s history.
The Travails of Ajadi, a stop-motion short directed by Adeoye Adetunji, has been selected for the Official Competition at the 66th Annecy International Animation Film Festival, running from 23 to 27 June 2026. It is the first Nigerian short film ever chosen for the category.
The selection follows Nigeria’s first-ever television series selection at Annecy in 2024, when The Ekspats, from Lagos-based G2 Animation, competed in the TV Films category, a moment the festival’s own artistic director, Marcel Jean, marked at the time as a first for the country. Organisers at Animation Nigeria, the industry body coordinating the country’s delegation to this year’s festival, say the two selections together point to sustained momentum rather than a single breakthrough.
The Travails of Ajadi follows a weathered fisherman who is thrown into the sea during a storm and wakes in a strange, metaphysical in-between space. The film will have its world premiere at Annecy and will screen five times across the festival as listed below:
- Tuesday 23 June, 17:30–18:51, Pathé 8 – Pathé Annecy
- Wednesday 24 June, 09:00–10:21, Petite Salle – Bonlieu
- Thursday 25 June, 17:30–18:51, Pathé 8 – Pathé Annecy
- Friday 26 June, 22:00–23:21, Pathé 5 – Pathé Annecy
- Saturday 27 June, 17:00–18:21, Petite Salle – Bonlieu
The competition selection coincides with the fifth consecutive year that Animation Nigeria, in partnership with the French Embassy in Nigeria, has brought a delegation of studios to MIFA, Annecy’s international animation market. Over that period, the organisation says it has represented more than 30 studios at the market, gradually building relationships and international visibility for the sector.
This year’s delegation, based at Booth C-01 in the MIFA Market, includes 7th Pick Arts & Media, Basement Animation Studio, BeeReel, Folktail Studios, FBC Animation, JE Multimedia Studios, Kokopelli, Magic Carpet, Radioxity Media, SMIDS Animation, Taeps, and VX Animation, with a slate of short films, series and feature projects seeking co-production and distribution partners.
For the first time, Nigerian professionals will also speak at MIFA’s industry conference sessions, rather than attending solely as exhibitors.
Somto Ajuluchukwu, founder and animation producer at Vortex Animation, will join the panel Augmented Creativity: Redefining the Animation Studio with AI on Thursday, 25 June (11h00–12h00) at the Rotonde de l’Europe, Impérial Palace.
Esther Kemi Gbadamosi, founder of Radioxity’s Stop Motion Animation Academy, will speak on New Voices in Stop Motion on Friday, 26 June (09h15–10h15) at Salle 4, Le Campus MIFA.
Several other Nigerian projects are also gaining visibility at this year’s festival, including the children’s series Keko Africa, the animated series Monsters We Create, Eni & Tani, SMIDS’s National Geographic collaboration Ashtanami, and Key Post.
Animation Nigeria has credited five years of backing from the French Embassy in Nigeria — support, it says, that has helped open doors at Annecy, MIP Junior and other international markets — as central to the industry’s rising profile. Its message to that partner this week was simply: “Merci.”
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