JALI Research (JALI Inc.), the Toronto-based developer of high-end lip sync and facial animation software, returns as an exhibitor to Annecy for the International Animation Film Market (MIFA), the premier global gathering for the animation industry, taking place June 10–13, 2025, in Annecy, France. As part of the official MIFA festival, JALI Co-Founder and Oscar®-winning animator Chris Landreth will present an exclusive, live, and interactive demonstration on creating emotionally driven character animation.
From AAA games to cinematics to feature animation, JALI is redefining facial animation through intelligent automation. The platform delivers high-fidelity facial animation and multilingual lip sync at scale while empowering artists to create expressive, believable digital characters across animation, games, and immersive media. By transforming their lip sync solution from a background utility into a creative powerhouse, JALI helps teams deliver feature-quality results, on time, on budget, and on model.
“Annecy is recognized for supporting industry transformation and highlighting emerging talent,” says Sarah Watling, JALI Research Co-Founder and CEO. “We’re excited to return this year and showcase how JALI’s solutions are empowering animation studios and animators with powerful, high-end, scalable pipeline tools that support both large-scale production and craft-centric animation houses to deliver best-in-class animated stories.
The JALI software suite includes natively deployed plugins for Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine. Its embedded Heart & Mask system is based on performance theory and psychology, enabling animators to blend internal emotion (Heart) with outward expression (Mask) for emotionally rich performances across infinite takes without sculpting each frame. The streamlined workflow eliminates repetitive tasks and gives artists the freedom to iterate quickly and explore a broader emotional range.
MIFA Presentation with Chris Landreth
Presentation: Animating Emotion: JALI’s Tools for Immersive Storytelling
Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025
Time: 5:00–6:00 p.m.
Location: Rotonde Room
Annecy attendees are invited to join Academy Award®-winning animator and JALI Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Chris Landreth, for a live presentation at MIFA entitled Animating Emotion: JALI’s Tools for Immersive Storytelling.
Designed for industry professionals, students, and animation enthusiasts, Landreth will take the audience on an exciting and emotional journey that explores JALI’s powerful lip sync and facial animation technology, offering a unique glimpse into how automation and the creative process intersect to drive forward modern animation workflows. The session includes live demos highlighting JALI’s Heart & Mask system and explores its advanced suite of intuitive animation and rigging tools that empower creators to deliver expressive, high-quality character performances efficiently while maintaining artistic control.
An acclaimed director and facial animation educator, Landreth won the Best Short Animation Oscar® for Ryan in 2005. His masterclass, Making Faces, has been taught at DreamWorks Animation, Seneca College, the University of Toronto, and the École Georges Méliès in Paris.
Explore JALI’s Game-Changing Facial Animation at Stand A17
MIFA Festival attendees are encouraged to visit JALI at Stand A17 to explore the latest features in its facial animation and lip-sync software.
Exhibit Hours
- Tuesday, June 10–Thursday, June 12: 9:00 AM–7:00 PM
- Friday, June 13: 8:30 AM–6:00 PM
Meet with the JALI Team
To schedule press briefings during Annecy with JALI Research team members Sarah Watling (Co-founder & CEO), Chris Landreth (Co-founder & CCO), and Alysha White (Education & Outreach | Operations), please contact Vicky Gray-Clark, Ambient PR, at (408) 318-1980 (mobile & WhatsApp) or vicky@ambientpr.com. Members of the press are also welcome to stop by the JALI stand, A17, without an appointment.
About JALI Research
Founded in 2016, JALI Research Inc. is a Toronto-based developer of high-end procedural animation technology. JALI artist-friendly tools enable automated lip sync, expressive multilingual facial animation, and production-ready rigging and pipeline solutions, empowering animators and studios to deliver cinematic-quality animation at scale, efficiently, reliably, and with creative precision.
JALI began as graduate research at the University of Toronto, where work in linguistics, procedural generation, and animation laid the foundation for a new approach to directing digital character performance. Originally developed for AAA video games, JALI’s technology now powers a suite of tools for cinematic and real-time production, offering non-destructive, procedural workflows that give animators creative freedom and control.
Since its debut, JALI has been used on acclaimed titles including Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, RoboCop: Rogue City, Stellar Blade, Rise of the Ronin, and the recently released Avowed and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Over 200 studios have adopted the JALI platform, with more than 50 active projects currently in production.
JALI Research Resources
