We’ve finally reached the end of my Cardiff Animation Festival 2026 coverage and I want to begin by saying a huge huge thank you to Lauren and the team for hosting yet another amazing and successful festival and allowing me to cover press.
As an avid animation fan, I am always amazed by the skill and craftsmanship that goes into making a film and CAF did not disappoint. It was great to speak with some of the filmmakers and talk to them about their processes and inspiration.
The final slot of the festival is the awards show and, this year, it was hosted by film critic, Ali Plumb, who did a wonderful job of MC’ing and engaging with the audience.
In this roundup, I’ve listed the winners from the Festival’s award show and will conclude with my top 3 films from the festival.
CAF 2026 Award Winners
Here are the winners from the CAF 2026 awards show:
Best Micro Short
Boglach directed by Sarah Benson
Young Jury Award
Lost Marble – The Shortcut directed by Laura Quinn Geyer
Best Student Short
Foreign Bodies directed by Lysander Wong
Student Special Mention
Pear Garden directed by Shadab Shayegan
Best Short Film
And Granny Would Dance directed by Maryam Mohajer
Special Mention
A Night at the Rest Area directed by Saki Muramoto
Audience Award
The Undying Pain of Existence directed by Oscar Jacobson
Small Pics CAF 2026 Picks
Top Pick
Boglach directed by Sarah Benson
Special Mentions
PASALUBONG! directed by Sophia Uy
Pear Garden directed by Shadab Shayegan
That concludes my CAF 2026 write ups. What a fantastic year filled with talented filmmakers from all over the globe.
Well done to the team at CAF for another successful year!