The 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony of the Ottawa International Animation Festival concluded on Saturday with major honors for three innovative Japanese productions. Leading the competition lineup, the We Are Aliens film (Ware Ware wa Uchūjin), planned and produced by creative company NOTHING NEW, secured the festival’s prestigious Grand Prize for Animated Feature. Meanwhile, director Honami Yano’s animated short Eri took home the Best Animated Short Award, and Tomoki Misato’s television series Candy Caries won top honors in the Animation for Young Audiences 7+ Competition [1].
Ottawa Honors the We Are Aliens Film
The Ottawa International Animation Festival celebrated its milestone 50th anniversary gathering by recognizing ambitious animated projects from across the world. For NOTHING NEW, the Grand Prize for Animated Feature represents a major international milestone that arrived just one day after the project launched in domestic theaters. The We Are Aliens film opened in Japan on Friday before taking top honors in Ottawa on Saturday [1]. Festival programmers highlighted the production’s distinct visual vocabulary and sharp creative vision during the weekend ceremonies.
The Canadian animation showcase gathers international artists each year to spotlight works pushing beyond traditional commercial boundaries. Securing the Grand Prize in Ottawa establishes the Japanese feature among celebrated global cinema, confirming the growing North American interest in daring independent animation [2]. Rather than relying on conventional studio formulas, the project brought together diverse talent from commercial animation, popular music videos, and European independent cinema to shape an unconventional narrative structure. By capturing awards across feature, short, and children’s categories during the 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony, the three projects demonstrated exceptional technical skill and storytelling depth [1]. The jury rewarded that creative ambition.
Kōhei Kadowaki directed the film. His singular directorial vision guided the production through several years of intricate planning and multi-studio collaboration [1].
Kōhei Kadowaki Directs the We Are Aliens Anime
Director Kōhei Kadowaki shouldered an extraordinary range of core production responsibilities for the project. Kadowaki served as the feature’s planner, scriptwriter, director, storyboard artist, and editor, maintaining singular control over every narrative beat and visual transition. Anime enthusiasts already recognize his distinctive kinetic style from his earlier high-profile industry projects. Kadowaki previously created the ending sequence for the second season of BEASTARS and directed memorable animated music videos for the renowned music duo YOASOBI. That extensive background in dynamic visual sequencing directly informed the pacing of the We Are Aliens film [1].
The production framework combined seasoned Japanese organizers with prominent European independent talent. Planning and production originated with NOTHING NEW, which oversaw development before securing an instrumental international partnership in June 2025. Acclaimed French animation company Miyu Productions, renowned for international projects like Ghost Cat Anzu and A New Dawn, formally joined the production effort in June 2025. Their cross-border partnership bridged Japanese visual sensibilities with European independent animation techniques [1].
Musical architecture plays an equally pivotal role in shaping the film’s atmospheric identity. Yaffle composed the musical score. The prominent music producer previously produced acclaimed music for major recording artists including Fujii Kaze and Kenshi Yonezu. Singer adieu performs the film’s evocative theme song “Sasakure” (Split), completing a formidable musical lineup assembled to support Kadowaki’s cinematic storytelling [1].
International Festival Circuit and Global Screenings
Before arriving at the Ottawa festival, the We Are Aliens film embarked on an extensive global festival run across premier cinematic showcases. The project celebrated its world screening on May 14 at the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival [1]. Industry programmers in France quickly took note of the project’s distinctive artistic identity and sharp execution. Cannes audiences watched the screening.
The international circuit expanded rapidly through June as the feature entered official competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which ran from June 21 to 27. Following its European screenings, the animated work traveled across the Southern Hemisphere, securing official selections at both the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF). Each international appearance introduced Kadowaki’s idiosyncratic visual humor to diverse cultural audiences prior to the movie’s domestic theatrical opening in Japan [1].
The film’s global festival journey continues through the autumn with upcoming festival appearances across Asia. Organizers have scheduled the We Are Aliens film to screen at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), taking place from October 6 to October 15. The South Korean festival will feature the movie inside its dedicated “Japanese Animation Special: Masterpieces of Madness, Exhilarating Prospects 12+1” category, reinforcing its reputation as one of the year’s most audacious animated offerings [1].
Honami Yano Wins Short Award for Eri
The Ottawa jury awarded the Best Animated Short Award to director Honami Yano for her poetic short film Eri. Yano served as the sole writer, animator, and director on the Japanese-French production, demonstrating the intimate handcrafted artistry that previously distinguished her celebrated shorts A Bite of Bone and ChromosomeSweetheart. The short film adapts Japanese author Kasumi Asakura’s 2008 novel Hoka ni Dare ga iru (Who Else is There?) into a striking visual exploration of love and longing [1]. Kasumi Asakura wrote the novel.
Yano provided a poignant thematic description summarizing the emotional core of Eri: “In a world where dairy cows must bear calves to survive, Eri, a Holstein, falls in love with another cow. Her sighs linger through sleepless nights — will they find their way to the one she loves?” Like Kadowaki’s feature, Yano’s short enjoyed an early world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight on May 14 before claiming top honors in Ottawa [1].
Independent short animation continues to serve as an indispensable laboratory for creative risk-taking within Japan’s commercial ecosystem. Earlier studio milestones in short-form animation, including when Bandai Namco Filmworks revealed a Future GPX Cyber Formula short, similarly highlighted how Japanese creators utilize compact storytelling to explore experimental narratives. Yano’s victory in Ottawa confirms that international juries remain eager to celebrate deeply personal, hand-drawn storytelling from independent visionaries [2].
Tomoki Misato and Wit Studio Craft Candy Caries
Rounding out the trio of Japanese winners at Ottawa, the original television anime Candy Caries won the Animation for Young Audiences 7+ Competition. Created by acclaimed stop-motion director Tomoki Misato and animation powerhouse Wit Studio, the series brings high-energy slapstick comedy to domestic television audiences. Misato, who earned worldwide acclaim for directing Pui Pui Molcar, helms the production at TORUKU from WIT STUDIO with a seasoned crew of industry veterans. Kenshirō Morii of Anime-Gataris and Grand Blues! serves as assistant director, while Chiaki Nishiaka writes the screenplay and Akari Saitō edits the episodes [1]. Composer Keigo Hoashi handles the music.
The narrative follows Ame, a young child with an insatiable love for sweets, and Caries, the mischievous tooth decay organism residing inside her mouth. Caries enjoys an entirely carefree existence between Ame’s teeth and affectionately calls the young girl “Mama,” leaving Ame’s daily physical comfort entirely at Caries’ mercy. The series made its television debut within the Yoru no Brunch variety program on TBS on April 15 [1]. Amazon Prime Video streams the anime.
The visual style of Candy Caries stems from innovative material experimentation that began when Wit Studio established a dedicated stop-motion studio with Misato in December 2020. The creative team first introduced the concept through a stop-motion anime promotional video in 2021 before developing the property into a broadcast television format. Misato utilized sheets of plastic board and acrylic to assemble the characters, creating a tactile aesthetic he described as a semi three-dimensional animation that is “flat like an illustration, but plump and thick.” [1] The Ottawa victory validates that inventive material approach as the series reaches global recognition [2].
- ONLINE NEWS Cayanan, J. (2026, September 27). We Are Aliens Film, Eri Short Anime, Candy Caries Win at Ottawa Int’l Animation Festival. Anime News Network. [Article Link]
- PRESS RELEASE Ottawa International Animation Festival. (2026, September 26). 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony Official Selections and Winners. Anime News Network Newsroom. [Article Link]
