'18 Months' Wins Jury's Choice Award at SIGGRAPH

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Festivals are the number one place to see the latest animated short films. Shorts often tour the international festival circuit long before they are ever released online. One of this year's crop to find considerable success is 18 Months, directed by Paulo Garcia and Natalia Gouvea. The film's latest triumph is being awarded the Jury's Choice Award at SIGGRAPH 2026 Computer Animation Festival, one of the leading festivals showcasing animation, computer graphics and visual effects. The recognition further advances the film's campaign for the 2027 Academy Awards, following its recent success at Oscar-qualifying festival Animayo.

SIGGRAPH takes place annually in Los Angeles, California, and is organised by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The awards, which take place at the climax of the festival, recognise productions that combine artistic excellence with technical innovation.

Presented by a jury of international experts, the Jury's Choice Award recognises works distinguished by their storytelling, direction and artistic achievement. The 2026 edition also honoured two other projects: A Great Divide from South Africa, which won the Best In Show Award, and Beyond Words, from France, which won Best Student Project.

Inspired by a true story, 18 Months follows gay couple Dan and Pete who discover an abandoned infant on the New York City Subway and embark on the long process to legally adopt it. Over the course of 18 Months, it shows the bureaucratic, emotional and social challenges they face to adopt a child. The film is about belonging, diversity and the many ways a family can be built.

The film is crafted in a combination of stop-motion and real-time projection to seamless effect.

The award is just the latest in a successful run on the international circuit, which has seen it recognised by some of the most prestigious animation and film festivals. Its win at Animayo Gran Canaria in June qualified it for consideration at next year's Oscars for Best Animated Short.

“From the very beginning, we designed the film so that the technique would be invisible to the audience," says Paulo Garcia. "Every handcrafted element, the combination of stop-motion and real-time projections, every detail of lighting and movement, exists to serve the story. Being recognised by the SIGGRAPH jury – an event that celebrates technical excellence – shows that it is possible to innovate without losing sight of what matters most in any film: the emotion it can evoke,” 

18 Months is produced by Zombie Studio, an award-winning Brazilian studio that produces CG, stop-motion and 2D animation. These latest wins join over 600 awards for the studio.

While 18 Months continues to tour festivals internationally, the film is also available online. You can check it out here.

Paulo Garcia and Natalia Gouvea  [Cabe Tejeda © 2026 ACM SIGGRAPH]