AFI Fest's 40th edition opens in Hollywood with the US premiere of LAIKA's stop-motion film Wildwood
The American Film Institute's festival runs from 21 to 25 October at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Los Angeles, opening with Travis Knight's animated adaptation of Colin Meloy's novel.
The 40th AFI Fest, the American Film Institute’s annual film festival, is scheduled to open on Wednesday 21 October Los Angeles time with the US premiere of Wildwood, a stop-motion fantasy film from animation studio LAIKA, the institute said.
The festival runs from 21 to 25 October at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood and includes red carpet premieres, special screenings, world cinema, documentaries and short films, according to AFI.
Wildwood is directed and produced by Travis Knight and written by Chris Butler, based on the novel by Colin Meloy. Its voice cast is led by Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay, with Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Tom Waits and Richard E. Grant among others, AFI said. In the film, a teenager tries to rescue her baby brother after he is taken by crows into an enchanted forest near Portland, Oregon.
“AFI is honored to celebrate WILDWOOD as the Opening Night Film of the 40th Annual AFI FEST,” AFI president and chief executive Bob Gazzale said when the selection was announced in September.
Knight said the film had been in development for 16 years and was “built slowly, painstakingly, by hundreds of extraordinary artists and craftspeople”.
AFI Fest is recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival for the Oscar short film categories, according to the institute.
Sources
- U.S. Premiere of Wildwood to Open AFI Fest 2026 Presented by Canva · American Film Institute
- U.S. Premiere of LAIKA's 'Wildwood' to Open 40th AFI FEST · Animation World Network
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