In Waves Animated Film

Get a massive head start on your future watchlist with this ultimate sneak peek at the biggest animated features gearing up for a 2026 Cannes premiere.

A Story of Healing Carried by Waves and Love

《In Waves》 is a French-Belgian animated feature directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen. The story begins in Los Angeles, where a shy teenager named AJ meets Christine, who loves surfing. AJ enjoys skateboarding and drawing, while Christine is passionate about the ocean. They fall in love, but Christine’s sudden illness changes their future together.

The film is based on AJ Dungo’s graphic novel. Amid the crisis, the couple endures their difficulties together through a newly shared love of surfing and the sea with their friends. Rather than treating surfing merely as a technical subject, the story centers on using it as an emotional passage through love, loss, friendship, and illness.

《In Waves》 had its world premiere as the opening film of the 2026 Cannes Critics’ Week, making it the first animated feature to open the section in its history. It has a runtime of 91 minutes and was released theatrically in France by Diaphana on July 1, 2026. The French voice cast includes Lyna El Arabi, Lio Vega, Paul Kircher, and Bérangère McNeese, while Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu participated in the English version.

The film was produced by Silex Films and uses both 2D and 3D techniques as an animated feature. Its selection as the opening film of Cannes Critics’ Week marked a starting point for the director’s first feature and for expanding the graphic novel’s personal emotions into moving images on screen.