BIAF2026 to Open with TANGLES

The 28th Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF2026) has announced that TANGLES, a feature-length animated film directed by Leah Nelson, will open this year’s festival and compete in the Feature Competition.

A Canada–U.S. co-production running 102 minutes, TANGLES was officially selected for Special Screenings at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it attracted international attention following its premiere. Adapted from Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me, the film is set in San Francisco in 1999 and follows Sarah, whose life is profoundly changed when her mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

As her mother’s memory gradually fades, Sarah and her family navigate the complex realities of love, responsibility, and loss, confronting the changing dynamics of their relationships.

Commenting on the selection, BIAF Program Director Eugene Kim said, “The tangles and knots are not confined to the mother’s mind; they exist within the family itself. Gradually, the family comes to realize that it is up to them to unravel these emotional complexities, learning that even after loss, life continues.”

Rendered in a warm, hand-drawn aesthetic, TANGLES demonstrates animation’s distinctive ability to approach difficult human experiences with emotional depth and visual imagination. The film features a high-profile voice cast including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Abbi Jacobson, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Beanie Feldstein, and Samira Wiley. Louis-Dreyfus and Rogen also serve as producers on the film.

The 28th Bucheon International Animation Festival will take place from October 23 to 27, 2026, in Bucheon, South Korea. (www.biaf.or.kr)