France honored with a string of awards at the 60th Annecy International Animation Film Festival

24 JUNE 2021

To cap off an amazing week filled with long-awaited get-togethers, we could not have wished for a more exciting awards list for French films than that which was announced at this year's highly successful 60th anniversary edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

In the feature film sections, French productions dominated the awards in the Official Selection, capturing four of the six prizes, in addition to all the special awards presented to feature films.

Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, coproduced by Vivement Lundi !, has earned yet more international accolades, now picking up the prestigious Cristal Award for Best Feature Film, as well as the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution and the Best Original Music Prize (sponsored by the SACEM), in the wake of a string of awards at Sundance, Göteborg, and Visions du Réel - 2021.

Two women directors who have already won numerous awards were honored for their debut feature films: Michaela Pavlátová won the Jury Prize for My Sunny Maad and Florence Miailhe received a Special Mention from the Jury for The Crossing.

Furthermore, the André-Martin Prize for a French Feature was given to Marona's Fantastic Tale by Anca Damian.

In the short film sections, no less than 49 films and immersive works featured this year in the various festival competitions, with 10 French works featuring among award winners.

In the Special Prizes category, the outstanding film Maalbeek by Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis picked up the André-Martin Prize for a French Short Film. This sensitive and important film achieves a perfect balance between formal stucture and moral focus.

In the MIFA pitch sessions, all of the prizes attributed to feature films went to French projects, as did the majority of prizes for short films, TV productions, and VR works.

All award-winning French productions and coproductions at Annecy 2021

Feature films

Cristal Award for Best Feature Film: Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Jury Prize: My Sunny Maad by Michaela Pavlátová
André-Martin Prize: Marona's Fantastic Tale by Anca Damian
Award for Best Original Music: Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Foundation Gan Prize for Distribution: Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Special Mention from the Jury: The Crossing by Florence Miailhe

Short Films

Jury Prize: Easter Eggs by Nicolas Keppens
Jean-Luc Xiberras Prize for Best First Film: Hold Me Tight by Léoluna Robert-Tourneur
Cristal Award for a TV production: Vanille by Guillaume Lorin
Jury Prize for a TV special: Mum is Pouring Rain by Hugo De Faucompret
André-Martin Prize: Maalbeek by Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis
Young Audiences Award: Kiko and the Animals by Yawen Zheng
Junior Jury + Canal+ Prize: A Stone in the Shoe by Éric Montchaud
Junior Jury Prize for a Graduation Film: My Friend Who Shines in the Night by Grégoire De Bernouis, Jawed Boudaoud, Simon Cadilhac, Hélène Ledevin
Award for Best Original Music: The Awakening of the Insects by Stéphanie Lansaque, François Leroy
Mention from the Jury for a Graduation Film: Butterfly Jam by Shih-Yen Huang

MIFA Pitches: French prize winners 2021

Feature Films

Cristal Award for Publishing: Flow by Gints Zilbalodis
Ciclic Prize: In Waves by Phuong Mai Nguyen and Porcelain Bird by Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
TitraFilm Prize: Sidi Kaba et la Porte du retour by Rony Hotin

Short Films

Arte France Prize: Gigi by Cynthia Calvi
Ciclic Prize: Margarethe by Lucas Malbrun
Auvergne – Rhône – Alpes Cinéma Prize / Bourse des festivals: Signal by Mathilde Parquet and Emma Carré
SACD Prize: Sulaimani by Vinnie Ann Bose

Series and TV Specials

Studios Alhambra Prize + TitraFilm Prize: L’Ourse et l’Oiseau by Marie Caudry
Ciclic Prize: Papa et Moi by Olesya Shchukina
Ciclic Prize + TitraFilm Prize: Pour exister by Fabien Corre and Kelsi Phung

Digital Experiences: