FICAM 2026 in Meknes unveils animation festival winners

The 24th edition of the Meknes International Animation Film Festival (FICAM 2026) came to a close on Wednesday, May 20, with the announcement of a list of winners shaped by the choices of a professional jury, young viewers and the public. Unveiled during the closing ceremony, the award-winning short and feature films underscored the power of animated cinema as a vehicle for universal messages, emotion and shared values.

In the animated short film competition, the Jury Grand Prize went to French director Agnès Patron for «Une Fugue». Polish filmmaker Sylwia Szkiłądź received the jury’s Special Mention for «Autokar». The Youth Prize was awarded to «Tigre et Renard : Les animaux aussi pleurent leurs morts» by Romain Verlinde, Clémence Cognot, Sully Desplats, Arthur Davignie and Helia Deplanque. The Best Student Film Prize was awarded jointly to «A l’Ombre des draps» by Lina Saidani and «Gauze» by Noran Fikri Alezabi, Nicholas Arujah, Xinyue Ma, Yulin Yue and Xiaonan Zhou. The Junior Jury Prize went to «Chère fin» by Khema Cousin, Lien Franckel, Laora Le Boursicot, Alissende Masson, Josephine Mounier and Clément Saden. «Two Ships» by McKinley Benson won the Audience Award.

In the animated feature film competition, the jury awarded its Grand Prize to Zaven Najjar for «Allah n’est pas obligé», while the Audience Award went to «Arco» by Ugo Bienvenu. In the VR animation film competition, Iranian director Negar Motevalymeidanshah won two awards for «Less Than 5gr of Saffron», taking both the Jury Grand Prize and the Special Mention. Menghui Huang, meanwhile, claimed the Audience Award for «The Big Cube».

The ceremony ended with a screening of the 2026 César-nominated feature film «La vie de Château, mon enfance à Versailles», while the festivities continued at Agora Square with a concert by Japanese J-rock band Nanashi.