French animation at international film festivals: spring 2022

French animation at international film festivals: spring 2022

French animation thrived at the beginning of 2022, especially in North American festivals such as South by SouthWest, Aspen Shortsfest, and the New York International Children's Film Festival. This trend will continue in the spring with selections in prestigious festivals like the Cannes International Film Festival and its parallel strands.

South by SouthWest

 Three French animated shorts featured in International Competition at the 2022 edition of South by SouthWest: Anxious Body, The Seine's Tears, and Wet. The Seine's Tears received a Special Jury Recognition at the end of the event.

The French selection was bolstered by the presence of two virtual reality animation works in the non-competitive Virtual Cinema Spotlight strand: Goliath: Playing With Reality and Minimum Mass.

Aspen Shortsfest

 Five French animated shorts were presented at Aspen Shortsfest: Plans for LoveAnxious Body, Goodbye Jerome!, Mum is Pouring Rain, and Freedom Swimmer. The latter won Best Animation as well as the Ellen Prize.

Vienne Tricky Women/Tricky Realities

 The 2022 edition of Vienne Tricky Women/Tricky Realities threw the spotlight on French animation with 10 shorts in Competition and eight in special programs. The prize list of this edition reflects this large French presence since four prizes or mentions were awarded to French works: the Tricky Women/Tricky Realities Award went to Butterfly Jam by Shih-Yen Huang, Grand Post Award to Fledge by Hani Dombe and Tom Kouris, Sabine & Nicolai Sawczynski Audience Award to Steakhouse by Špela Čadež , and Two Sisters received an International Jury Special Mention.

Tampere Film Festival

 The Tampere Film Festival, which took place from March 9 through 13, welcomed five French animated shorts in its International Competition:

French works met with success, with Granny's Sexual Life receiving the Grand Prix and Blind Spot the Best Documentary.

New York International Children's film festival

 The New York International Children's Film Festival presented nine French animation titles to the New York public during its 2022 edition, including the feature films Charlotte by Eric Warin and Tahir Rana, and Where Is Anne Frank by Ari Folman. Three French productions reaped three  audience awards: Charlotte received the Grown Ups Award, lthe TV special Mum is Pouring Rain by Hugo de Faucompret received the Audience Award 8+, and Franzy's Soup-kitchen by Ana Chubinidze won the Audience Award 3+.

French film festivals 

Animation played an important role in Unifrance events and/or those dedicated to French films:

Short takes

Article by  Carla Negre

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