All the world’s best animation is back on display in the capital for the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

For the next five days, downtown Ottawa will be transformed into a stage for everything from the thought-provoking to the hilarious. So long as it’s animated, you’ll find it.

The festival was underway early Wednesday with a screening of 16 short films at the Château Laurier, starting with “Begone Dull Care 2015,” made by Canadian Paul Johnson:

** Warning: Contains intense flashing lights ** https://vimeo.com/groups/stopmotion/videos/141348959

The festival’s opening ceremony was held at 9 p.m. Wednesday night in the ByTowne Cinema on Rideau Street. Before that, the OIAF premiere of “Window Horses” went ahead at 7 p.m.

From the film’s Facebook page :

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_ but she’d rather be in Paris. She lives at home with her over-protective Chinese grandparents and has never been anywhere by herself. Once in Iran, she finds herself in the company of poets and Persians, all who tell her stories that force her to confront her past; the Iranian father she assumed abandoned her and the nature of Poetry itself. It’s about building bridges between cultural and generational divides. It’s about being curious. Staying open. And finding your own voice through the magic of poetry." _

https://vimeo.com/155891239

As the OIAF celebrates 40 years, take a look back on the years with screenings of movies from past festivals. On Thursday and Saturday the earliest winners of the OIAF grand prize will be re-screened, starting with the very first winner from 1976, “The Street” by Caroline Leaf.

Based on a Mordecai Richler story, the film explores a grandmother’s prolonged death and the effect it has on her family.

Here’s a trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsb29V2ecj4

The rest of the week will include more screenings, as well as other events such as competitions and seminars for animators.

Check out a full schedule with locations is available on the OIAF’s website. Most events require the purchase of a ticket.