The festival celebrates its 25th edition from March 12th to 22nd in Lisbon, and presents 47 Portuguese films, 21 of which are in competition, and 7 international feature films in the main competition.

 

  • MONSTRA returns from March 12th to 22nd for its 25th edition under the theme “Nature and Sustainability” with 490 films;
  • 7 films in competition for feature films, 5 of which are national premieres;
  • Portuguese competition Vasco Granja with works by Carolina Batista, João Pedro Oliveira, Gabriel Abrantes, Maria Lima, Bárbara Barreto, Caroline Soares and João Cadima, Pedro Serrazina, Alexandre Sousa, Marta Reis Andrade, and Alice Eça Guimarães;
  • Historical films, ClipAnim, DOKAnim, TerrorAnim, Triple X, and tributes are once again part of MONSTRA’s program;
  • Universes: Nature, Mother Africa, and “To Gaza with Love: A Global Anijam”;
  • With families in mind, films such as “Flow,” “Arco,” and many short films will be screened;

 

MONSTRA presents the program for its 25th edition, which will take place from March 12th to 22nd in Lisbon, paying tribute to Latvian animation. Under the theme Nature and Sustainability, this year’s edition presents more than 490 films and proposes a reflection on the planet, the landscape, and the relationship between humans and the environment, bringing together historical works, world premieres, Oscar-nominated films, and a strong presence of Portuguese cinema.

 

Major works from the world of animation featured in the Feature Film Competition section

The international Feature Film competition consists of seven films, five of which are national premieres: “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, nominated for the 2026 Oscars in the Best Animated Feature Film category, which is about a Belgian girl born in Japan; the Japanese film “ChaO” by Yasuhiro Aoki, which won the Jury Prize at the 2025 Annecy Festival; Sylvain Chomet, director of works such as “Belleville Rendez-vous” and “The Magician” now brings us “A Magnificent Life”, a film that premiered at the last Cannes Film Festival and is about the life of the famous writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol; Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s “Death Does Not Exist”, also presented in Cannes, at the Directors’ Fortnight, a film about a group of young activists who attempt a failed armed attack, leading one of them to abandon his companions; from China comes Li Wenyu’s “A Story About Fire”, about a monkey raised by humans who went to a sacred mountain in search of “warmth” and, after facing countless dangers and hardships, became human. The audience will be able to see Alberto Vázquez’s black comedy “Decorado” for the first time at MONSTRA, a co-production between Spain and the Portuguese production company Sardinha em Lata, about Arnold, a middle-aged rat going through an existential crisis. The film is nominated for the Goya Awards in Spain and the Quirino Awards for Ibero-American animation; to close this section, there will be a screening of David Súkup and Patrik Pašš’s “Tales from the Magic Garden”. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Berlinale and follows three siblings who spend their first weekend alone with their grandfather, who has become very lonely since the death of his wife.

 

9 films selected for the Portuguese Competition

Portuguese animation, recognized as one of the most important in Europe and worldwide, holds a prominent place at MONSTRA. Created in 2010, the  Portuguese Competition has established itself each year as one of the pillars of the festival, reflecting the vitality and diversity of national animation. This year, the films presented in this section are “My Oddly Unexpected Bond” by Carolina Batista, ‘Machinarium’ by João Pedro Oliveira, an absolute premiere, “Arguments in Favor of Love” by Gabriel Abrantes, “Doe” by Maria Lima, “Remember Me” by Bárbara Barreto, Caroline Soares, and João Cadima “Shadows of Ourselves” by Pedro Serrazina, “Amarelo Banana” by Alexandre Sousa, “Dog Alone” by Marta Reis Andrade, and “Because Today is Saturday” by Alice Eça Guimarães.

 

Short, Super Short, Student and, for the first time ever, the Long Shorts Film Competition!

As usual, MONSTRA also features competitive sections for short films, student films, super short films (films up to 2 minutes long), the MONSTRINHA competition, a section dedicated to younger audiences, and, for the first time, a competitive section dedicated to medium-length films, films between 15 and 40 minutes long. Several Portuguese works are included in the Short Film Competition, namely: “Dog Alone” by Marta Reis Andrade, “Because Today is Saturday” the latest film by Alice Eça Guimarães, “Amarelo Banana” by Alexandre Sousa, “Shadows of Ourselves” by Pedro Serrazina, and “One Way Cycle” by Alicia Nuñez Puerto, a co-production between Portugal and Spain. In the Long Shorts Film Competition, highlights include “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, which is nominated for Best Animated Short Film for the 2026 Oscars and whose directors have already won awards at MONSTRA with the film “Madame Tutli-Putli”; also noteworthy are “Water Girl” and “KOSMOGONIA”, two Portuguese co-productions.

 

Historical Films, ClipAnim, DOKAnim, TerrorAnim, Triple X, and Tributes

This section brings together a series of  films that represent important milestones in the history of animation cinema: Lotte Reiniger’s “The Adventures of Prince Achmed”, marks 100 years of the first European feature film; the 75th anniversary of Robert Cannon’s short film “Gerald McBoing-Boing” which kicks off an entertaining Cartoon Modern session; the 50th anniversary of “Allegro non Troppo” a musical film that illustrates six pieces of classical music in a fun and imaginative way, in a tribute to director Bruno Bozzetto, which also includes a session of 16 short films by the Italian director; as well as the 50th anniversary of Aardman Studios, which brings us popular characters such as “Wallace & Gromit” and “Shaun the Sheep”, as well as some episodes of “Morph”, the first series produced in 1976 by Aardman, created by one of the studio’s founders, Peter Lord.

The ANIM section brings together thematic sessions dedicated to documentary (DokAnim), horror (TerrorAnim), music videos (ClipAnim), architecture (ArchAnim), jazz (JazzAnim), and erotic animation (Triple X), combining social, political, musical, and sensory approaches.

 

Universes: Nature and Mother Africa

For the 2026 edition, MONSTRA presents a new section, which gives the audience a different way of looking at the program. In this context, there are sessions related to the theme of this edition, Nature and Sustainability, which includes sessions such as: Recycled Animation, dedicated to the reuse of materials in animated creation; Landscapes in Motion, where the landscape takes center stage in the narrative; Frédéric Back – The Man Who Planted Trees, bringing together three masterpieces by this Canadian director; the feature film “Dandelion’s Odyssey” by Momoko Seto, a cosmic fable about survival after the destruction of Earth; and also some Portuguese works, such as “Ice Merchants” by João Gonzalez, ‘Augur’ by David Doutel and Daniel Sá, and “Wind’s Embrace” by José Miguel Ribeiro.

This year, there will also be a screening of 10 short films entitled “Africa Animated in 90 Years”, which celebrates nine decades of African animated filmmaking, curated by Mohamed Ghazala.

 

“To Gaza with Love: An Global Anijam”

The Festival once again shows its solidarity with the Palestinian people, this time with the screening of “To Gaza with Love: A Global Anijam”, a session consisting of 56 micro-films made by filmmakers from all around the world, including six Portuguese filmmakers, about Palestine, curated by Joanna Quinn, a British filmmaker who will be present at MONSTRA.

 

MONSTRINHA: a program designed for families

During the two weekends of the Festival, there are films scheduled for families: short and feature films, Baby Monstra sessions (free admission for children up to 3 years old), and animation workshops for parents and children. Families will be able to watch films such as “Arco” by Ugo Bienvenu, which is nominated for the 98th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film, “Flow” by Gints Zilbalodise, which won the Oscar for Best International Film last year and praised Latvian cinematography, which MONSTRA is honoring this year, or films that are in competition, such as “Hola Frida” by Karine Vézina and André Kadi, “The Songsbirds’ Secret” by Antoine Lanciaux, and “Space Cadet” by Kid Koala.

 

Opening Ceremony

The festival’s opening ceremony, which will take place on the evening of February 12th at Cinema São Jorge, will feature the world premiere of Marcy Page’s “Virgin Fandango”, produced by Ciclope Filmes, a production company founded by Abi Feijó. The musical short film uses an innovative technique of animated tiles, evoking the female struggle for equality. This film will be joined by short films from Latvia and the celebration of the 90th anniversary of “Peter and the Wolf Live”, a story told through music, composed by Serge Prokofiev in 1936, with the screening of the 2006 film by Suzie Templeton, accompanied by live music performed by the Orquestra de Sopros da Academia de Música de Santa Cecília.

 

In Lisbon, MONSTRA takes place at Cinema São Jorge, Cinemateca Portuguesa, and Cinema City Alvalade. MONSTRA is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual, Creative Europe MEDIA, and the Lisbon City Council.

 

Shadow of the Butterflies by Sofia El Khyari