French animations, of all formats, have featured strongly in selections and awards lists at international festivals in recent months.
French Film Festival UK
The French Film Festival UK, which took place from November 3 through December 15, 2021, presented three feature films in its Animation category: Hello World by Anne-Lise Koelher and Éric Serre, Josep by Aurel, and Calamity by Rémi Chayé.
Tallinn Black Night Film Festival
The section devoted to short films at the Black Nights Film Festival de Tallinn, PÖFF Shorts, was screened from November 12 through 28, 2021.
Paul Mas, the French director who won the Best Animation Award at PÖFF Shorts 2020 with Precious, was a jury member in the Animation Competition in 2021. Several French productions picked up awards:
- The TV special Vanille by Guillaume Lorin won the award for Best Children's Animation.
- The graduation film Coffin by Cai Yuanqing, Nathan Crabot, Houzhi Huang, Mikolaj Janiw, Mandimby Lebon, and Théo Tran Ngoc was honored with a New Talents: Animation Jury Mention
- The short film Steakhouse by Čadež Špela received a nomination in the Short Film category of the 2022 European Film Awards.
Interfilm and Kuki
The awards list of the Berlin International Short Film Festival (Interfilm), and its section dedicated to young audiences, Kuki, shone a spotlight on French productions.
At Interfilm, Maalbeek was crowned Best Film, while Migrants picked up the award for Best Film on the Environment.
At the Kuki Festival, the award for Best Short Film in the 4+ and 6+ Program was given to Lupin, and the Special Mention in the 4+ and 6+ Program went to Kiki the Feather.
IDFA
IDFA, a key international event for professionals in the documentary sector, took place in Amsterdam from November 17 through 28, 2021. Five French works were showcased at the event: Flee and Constrain were included in the Best of Fest program, while the immersive works Missing Pictures: Tsai Ming-Liang and Goliath: Playing With Reality were screened in the DocLab Spotlight section. And, finally, the web series #Aminormal, a coproduction between upian. in France, and Mikooka, in Israel, in partnership with ARTE France and Kan TV, made its world premiere in the IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling.
Berlin French Film Week
The 2021 Berlin French Film Week was held in a hybrid format from November 24 through December 1. Florence Miailhe made the trip to Berlin to take part in the German preview screening of The Crossing, presented in the Youth category along with Calamity by Rémi Chayé.
Mum is Pouring Rain by Hugo de Faucompret, as well as My Life in Versailles by Nathaniel H'limi and Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat also featured in the festival's Short Film selection.
Aix-en-Provence Tous Courts Short Film Festival
The Aix-en-Provence Tous Courts Short Film Festival offered audiences the chance to see 6 French animated shorts. The International Competition lineup included Absence by Marc Héricher, Under the Skin, the Bark by Franck Dion, Swallow the Universe by Nieto, and The Hangman at Home by Michelle and Uri Kranot. The Experimental Competition featured 2 French works: Baby Anger by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, which was awarded the Unifrance Prize in the Experimental Competition, and Scum Mutation by Ov, which won the France 3 Libre Court Prize.
MyFrenchFilmFestival
Unifrance's emblematic online film festival, MyFrenchFilmFestival, opened on January 14, 2022, and will run for one month. This 12th edition of the event gives hundreds of thousands of internet users across the globe to (re)discover 7 French animated films, including the feature film Calamity by Rémi Chayé, in addition to 6 other short films spread among the various festival categories:
- Horacio by Caroline Cherrier
- Hold Me Tight by Léoluna Robert-Tourneur (a Franco-Belgian film presented in partnership with Wallonie-Bruxelles Images)
- Astralium by Lucie Andouche
- Mido and the Instrumals by Roman Guillanton
- Treasure by Alexandre Manzanares, Guillaume Cosenza, Philipp Merten, and Silvan Moutte-Roulet
- Eye for an Eye by Thomas Boileau, Alan Guimont, Robin Courtoise, Mathieu Lecroq, Malcolm Hunt, François Briantais
The festival poster and teaser were created by Marine Blin, director of the stunningly beautiful What Resonates in Silence, which was selected at Annecy, Anima, Animafest Zagreb, and many other international festivals in 2021.
Sundance
Three French animated short films were selected in the International Short Film Competition of the Sundance International Film Festival, which closed its doors on January 30, 2022: $75,000 by Moïse Togo, Goodbye Jerome! by Adam Sillard, Gabrielle Selnet, and Chloé Farr, and Swallow the Universe by Nieto.
Rotterdam International Film Festival - IFFR
Four French animations feature in the program of the 2022 Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR). The Press & Industry section includes three French productions this year: the Franco-Australian short film by Olivia Martin-McGuire, Freedom Swimmer, as well as Trona Pinnacles by Mathilde Parquet, and When We Leave by Mitchelle Tamariz.
The latest feature film by Anca Damian, The Island, completes the selection of French works presented this year. This coproduction between Romania, France, and Belgium is competing in the Big Screen Competition.
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
This year once again French animations are strongly represented at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, with a total of 28 titles on show:
- 2 in the International Competition (Steakhouse and Granny's Sexual Life)
- 5 in the National Competition (Home of the Heart, Anxious Body, The Seine's Tears, Noir-soleil, and The Night Watch)
- 2 in the Labo Competition (Cucumbers and Swallow the Universe).
- 16 presented in the programs for young audiences (Home of the Heart is also included in this section - see the complete list of titles here)
- 2 presented in Special Programs (Decorado and Kali the Little Vampire)
- Akplokplobito in the "Regards d’Afriques" section
On February 1 and 2, 2022, the teams from Unifrance's Short Film Department organized two Breakfast Networking events, in collaboration with SWISS FILMS, Sodec, and Wallonie-Bruxelles Images , with support fom TitraFilm.
Two information briefings were also held: the first, titled En route For The Oscars®, How to Organize Your Campaign, was hosted by Benoît Berthe Siward; the second, titled Unifrance: Presentation of Support Schemes, was hosted by the Unifrance team.
In Brief
- The Summit of the Gods by Patrick Imbert received the American Student Award at the COLCOA French Film Festival
- The Night Watch by Julien Regnard won the Grand Prize for a Short Film at the Tübingen-Stuttgart International French-Language Film Festival
- The Crossing by Florence Miailhe was selected at the French Film Varilux Panorama in Brazil.
- Flowing Home by Sandra Desmazières was shown in the French-language film program at Dakar Court
- The Island by Anca Damian and My Sunny Maad by Michaela Pavlátová will be screened to Swedish audiences at the Göteborg Film Festival, accompanied by the short film Scum Mutation by Ov.
*If you wish to inform us about the selection of a production, an award, or any other achievement that is not mentioned in this article, please contact us: carla.negre@unifrance.org
