French films and UniFrance at the 2019 Annecy Film Festival

11 JUNE 2019

As is the case each year, UniFrance will be out in force for the duration of this key event for the international animation sector, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, to be held June 10 through 15. For the third year running, UniFrance, the CNC, and Film France will be grouped together under a common banner at the international film market (MIFA) held in conjunction with the festival.

Four French feature films will be showcased in the Official Competition (compared with only one title last year), with three others presented in special screenings, and twenty French shorts and three virtual reality works also on the program: this sums up the extent of France's representation at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which will once again demonstrate the dynamism of the French animation industry.

The festival's competitive section notably includes three feature films that made their world premieres at this year's Cannes Film Festival in May: I Lost My Body by Jérémy Clapin (Critics' Week), The Swallows of Kabul by Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec and Zabou Breitman (Filmmakers' Fortnight), and The Bears' Famous Invasion by Lorenzo Mattotti (Un Certain Regard). This year also marks the first time that a French work has featured in the Virtual Reality Competition. In addition, a special spotlight will be given this year to a country that is a prime mover in the animation scene: Japan.

At MIFA, new innovations in 2019 include the market's expansion to occupy an additional 800m² terrace space, with the Imperial Beach area also privatized to accommodate the event.

From June 10 through 15, UniFrance teams will provide a constant presence at the festival to meet with international industry professionals. Some of the highlights of the week include:

On Tuesday, June 11, during a cocktail reception organized by the AFCA - Association Française du Cinéma d'Animation, Unifrance will present the 2019 Export Prize honoring the promotional work undertaken by a production company in the international arena.
On Thursday, June 13, UniFrance will host the traditional Networking Breakfast held in association with our collaborators at the Sodec, SWISS FILMS, and Wallonie-Bruxelles Images, and in partnership with TitraFilm. As well as professionals from the short film sector, this year's Networking Breakfast will also welcome representatives from the feature films and VR works presented in the festival competition (to book for this event, please contact Benoît Blanchard: benoit.blanchard@unifrance.org).
Also on Thursday, June 13, our partner TitraFilm will be hosting a party at the UBA, with festivities kicking off at 9:00 p.m. In keeping with MIFA's focus on Japanese animations this year, TitraFilm is making "Japan" its theme for the evening.