125 – PIAFF 2026: Celebrating Centenaries and Contemporary Delights

Clément Martin
Jan 18
4 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

Contradiction of Emptiness – Irina Rubina -Source: piaff.net

The Paris International Animation Film Festival (PIAFF) is in full swing until Sunday evening, offering a diverse and enthusiastic audience the rich pleasures of animated cinema.

The opening night was marked by a celebration of centenaries and contemporary achievements, blending heritage delights with the vibrant energy of today’s animation scene.

A Temple of Art House Cinema

Émilie Nouveau, Director and Programmer at Studio des Ursulines, shared the history of this iconic venue—the first "Art et Essai" cinema in France. The theater we gathered in was inaugurated on January 21, 1926, with René Clair’s experimental film Entr’acte. The film featured legendary figures like Francis Picabia, Erik Satie, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Darius Milhaud, and Georges Auric as extras. What a debut!

Today, this historic temple of Art House cinema is particularly dedicated to programming for young audiences, continuing its legacy of artistic innovation and discovery.

Émilie Nouveau and Alexis Hunot present the history of Studio des Ursulines on the occasion of its centenary. Photo: Clément Martin

Entr’acte from René Clair. Source image : https://soundart.zone/rene-clair-entracte-1924/

"The Town Rat and the Country Rat"

To celebrate this centenary, Alexis Hunot programmed a screening of "Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs "(1926) by Ladislas Starewitch, a pioneer of puppet animation.

It was with deep emotion that we savored this puppet film, with its live-action shots and signature over-exposures—hallmarks of the visual tricks of silent cinema. A true homage to the artistry of the era.

"Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs" (1926) - Ladislas Starewitch - © Léona Béatrice Martin-Starewitch

One Centenary Can Hide Another

"Never two centenaries without a third," as Clément Martin and Alexis Hunot reminded us, highlighting the centenary of André Martin’s birth—a tireless critic, filmmaker, researcher, and champion of animation. Born in Bordeaux, André Martin left an indelible mark on five decades of animation history, even coining the term "film d’Animation" in 1952 (1).

1956 – First International Animation Film Days, Cannes Top row, left to right: Atamanov, Ivanov Vano, Zeman, Trnka, Hofman, Paul Grimault, Alexandre Alexeieff, Claire Parker. Bottom row, left to right: Unidentified woman, Henri Gruel, Pierre Barbin, André Martin, Jabely. Photo: Geneviève and André Martin Collection

Clément Martin and Alexis Hunot then presented André Martin’s life's work highlighting his profound impact on the world of animation. - photo Sying Yu

The Giannalberto Bendazzi Award 2026

Since 2022, PIAFF has awarded the Giannalberto Bendazzi Prize to individuals who have significantly contributed to promoting animation. This year, the honor went to Mariam Kandelaki, a Georgian producer and artistic director of the Nicosia Festival, who has dedicated 40 years to animation.

Mariam Kandelaki received, as part of this award, an original watercolor from Théodore Ushev’s film Life with an Idiot. Photo: Clément Martin

Mariam Kandelaki shared her emotions:

The joy of being in Paris at Studio des Ursulines, reflecting on her beginnings 40 years ago under the Soviet regime and the journey that brought her here.
Her pride in receiving the Giannalberto Bendazzi Award, having collaborated with him a decade ago on the Georgian animation history section of the encyclopedic work "Animation: A World History."

Beyond the Opening Presentations: A Dive into the Short Film Competition

After the highly anticipated opening ceremonies, we had the privilege of attending the first session of the Short Film Competition. GAMCA Animation highlighted several standout films that left a lasting impression.

From 1930s Stradivarius to 2020s Violins

One of the evening’s gems was "Contradiction of Emptiness" by Irina Rubina, created using a pins-screen during her residency from April 8 to June 8, 2023, at La Bande Vidéo studio in Québec (2).

Irina Rubina, Director Source: irinarubina.com — *Irina Rubina, Director* *Source:* *irinarubina.com*

This poetic reflection on the Russian aggression in Ukraine plays with abstract forms, evoking the spirit of Fernand Léger’s Cubist and Futurist influences, particularly his 1924 masterpiece Ballet Mécanique ... also centenary !

What makes this film even more remarkable is its creation on "L'Alpine", the first pins-screen ever sold by Alexandre Noyer to La Bande Vidéo. Noyer is the first person to successfully build a pins-screen since Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker, whose invention dates back to 1930—nearly a century ago! (3)

Contradiction-of-emptiness Irina Rubina -source image https://www.animafest.hr/en/2024/film/read_all/contradiction_of_emptiness

Another Garden

The PIAFF also presented a film that could easily have fit into the experimental category, proving the festival’s delightfully eclectic programming. "Estes no es tu jardín" by Carlos Velendia and Angélica Restrepo (Colombia, 2025) takes us on a journey through vegetation, rendered as clouds of 3D-scanned dots.

This fascinating voyage is accompanied by:

A play of colors,
A soothing, and sometimes unsettling soundscape of electronic tones, wind, birds, streams, and fire.

The film invites us to reflect on nature and its fragility.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB-C-FlrFGI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB-C-FlrFGI

Silent Cinema

In "Silent Cinema", Krste Gospodinovski offers a single-take animation inside a theater that screens only silent films. The fluid camera movement serves as a metaphor for the isolation of this cinema from the outside world—a world that continues to change beyond its walls.

Craque Ganache: Horribly Funny!

Finally, we must highlight "Craque Ganache" by Étienne Bonnet, a deadpan comedy about a boy’s jaw surgery. The film is as cringe-inducing as it is hilarious, with a punchline that leaves the audience in stitches.