Kaboom Animation Festival brings the latest, most creative animated productions from all over the world to the Netherlands. The festival takes place in Utrecht, Amsterdam and online. Maarten van Gageldonk, Head of Programme, shares his must-sees.
Feature Films
Several feature films are being screened in the feature-length animation competition. One highlight is the much-awarded Chinese summer hit Nobody by Shui Yu. In this film, the spirit of a young wild boar must leave the magical mountain where he lives after insulting the king. Disguised as a monk, he embarks on an adventurous and hilarious journey to the western paradise with his friends – a toad, a weasel and an orangutan – to retrieve the sacred Buddhist scriptures before the real pilgrims do. Other features include: Dandelion’s Odyssey (Planètes) (a wordless animation about the search for a home), Decorado (a comedy about a mouse experiencing a midlife crisis), Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark (about the mystery of seven simultaneously disappeared cats in Cat Tokyo), ChaO (an original take on The Little Mermaid), Death Does Not Exist (about a climate activist on the run), and Endless Cookie (an award-winning animated documentary about the complex relationship between two half-brothers,
one indigenous, the other white).
Mononoke the Movie
A unique opportunity to watch two films of the Mononoke the Movie trilogy (2024-2026) by director Kenji Nakamura on the big screen, including a teaser of the third and final part.
13 en 21 march 2026
Thematic programme ‘Human Touch’
The thematic programme highlights the role of the human hand in creating animation. In an era when machines can imitate the craft of animating, the question arises: what makes handmade work unique? As part of ‘Human Touch’, two feature films are being screened: Maya,
Give Me a Title by renowned director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) on 14 and 19 March, and The Grand Bizarre by experimental filmmaker Jodie Mack on 15 and 22 March. You can also watch short films dedicated to hand-crafted animation.
14, 15, 19 en 22 march 2026
Cineconcert Elulu
Slovak musician Daniel Kordík will perform a live electronic soundtrack during the screening of the Chilean film Elulu (2020). This will add an extra musical layer to this mysterious film about loss, memory and string theory.
15 maart 2026
Kaboom Animation Festival
13 t/m 22 march 2026, several locations and online
kaboomfestival.nl
Lees in het Nederlands
