A number of festivals specializing in animation have given pride of place to French animated works in recent months, such as at Trickfilm in Stuttgart or Animafest Zagreb. French animations will also be very well represented at festivals held toward the end of the year, including the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and the Viborg Animation Festival (VAF).
Stuttgart – Trickfilm
In our previous Animation Newsletter, we reported on the strong presence of French productions at the Stuttgart Trickfilm International Animated Film Festival, where over 40 French works were selected. This presence was reflected in the awards, with 9 prizes or Mentions given to French productions.
As regards feature films, the already multi-award-winning film Flee, which was nominated for an Oscar this year, won the AniMovie Prize, while My Sunny Maad received a Special Mention from the Jury. In the short film sections, The Soloists picked up the FANtastic Prize and The Immoral was awarded the Lotte Reiniger Promotion Prize. Steakhouse and Mum is Pouring Rain were both honored with Special Mentions from the Jury in the Short Film Competition, as was The Seine's Tears, which also received a Special Mention from the FANtastic Prize Jury. This copious list of awards is completed by the Tricks For Kids Audience Award given to the TV special program Giuseppe.
The Summits of Animation
From May 10 through 15, audiences in Quebec had the chance to discover (or rediscover) 9 French productions at the Sommets du cinéma d'animation festival. Flowing Home, Sound Lab, and the trailer for the Festival Musique Emergente were included in the Canadian Competition, while The Hangman at Home was selected in the Grand Angle Competition. 5 French short films were also included in the "Best of Annecy" program at the event: Hold Me Tight, Easter Eggs, Butterfly Jam, Le Parc, and Collection Capsule. 2 French features were also screened at the festival: The Crossing by Florence Miailhe and My Neighbors’ Neighbors by Léo Marchand and Anne-Laure Daffis.
NewImages
A string of French animated immersive works were honored at the 2022 edition of the NewImages festival: On the Morning You Wake (To The End Of The World) won the Special Jury Prize, while Kubo Walks the City was awarded the LBE Special Jury Prize. The UniFrance/NewImages Festival Export Grant 2022 was presented to the company Onyo, who produced The Tree of Light, directed by Yann Garreau and Charlotte-Amélie Veaux.
For more information about the French presence at the event and the Unifrance operation at NewImages 2022, click here.
Animafest Zagreb
With over 40 French works included in the selection at Animafest Zagreb, it comes as no surprise that a large number of French productions appeared in the awards list of the 2022 edition of the event, as French works picked up a total of 11 awards or Mentions.
In the feature film sections, My Sunny Maad by Michaela Pavlátová won the Grand Prize, The Crossing by Florence Miailhe received the Mr. M Audience Prize and a Special Mention from the Jury, and Dozens of Norths by Koji Yamamura also received a Special Mention.
In the short film sections, the Zlatko Grgić Prize, given to a first film produced outside educational institutions, was awarded to Letter to a Pig by Tal Kantor, while Butterfly Jam by Shih-Yen Huang won the Award for Best Student Film.
Finally, 6 Special Mentions were awarded to the following works by the juries for the Short Film Competition, Graduation Films, and Films for Children:
- Swallow the Universe by Nieto
- Steakhouse by Čadež Špela
- Skinned by Joachim Hérissé
- Mom, What’s Up With the Dog? by Lola Lefèvre
- The Immoral by Ekin Koca
- Franzy's Soup-kitchen by Ana Chubinidze
Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF)
The upcoming edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival will take place from September 21 through 25, 2022.
Although the complete lineup has not yet been announced, we already know that three features and three shorts coproduced by France will feature in the Competition section: Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vázquez The Island by Anca Damian and Dozens of Norths by Koji Yamamura in the Feature Film Competition; and Franzy's Soup-kitchen by Ana Chubinidze, Luce and the Rock by Britt Raes, and Tales of the Salt Water by Tamerlan Bekmurzayev, Antoine Carré, Rodrigo Goulão De Sousa, Alexandra Petit, and Martin Robic are selected in the Children's Film Competition.
France is also the subject of a Special Spotlight event organized in collaboration with the French Embassy in Canada as part of the festival's professional component, The Animation Conference (TAC), to be held from September 21 through 23.
Several French producers will make the trip to Canada for this event, and will participate in a roundtable on the subject of Franco-Canadian coproductions. The French professionals are encouraged to take part in TAC 2022, which notably offers the possibility of holding pitch sessions in a range of formats (including a competition as well as a speed meetings session). For more details, click here.
Please note that the deadline for registering at TAC 2022 is Friday, September 2.
Viborg Animation Festival (VAF)
The Viborg Animation Festival will take place from September 26 through October 2, 2022, in Denmark. We can note a strong presence of French productions at this year's edition of the event, with 11 French shorts featuring in the short film and experimental short film competitions:
- Pachyderm by Stéphanie Clément
- Steakhouse by Čadež Špela
- Terra Incognita by Adrian Dexter by Pernille Kjaer
- Swallow the Universe by Nieto
- Yugo by Carlos Gómez Salamanca
- Granny's Sexual Life by Urška Djukić and Émilie Pigeard
- A Story for 2 Trumpets by Amandine Meyer
- Bear Hug by Margrethe Danielsen
- Franzy's Soup-kitchen by Ana Chubinidze
- Backflip by Nikita Diakur
- Quantum Shadow by Frank Ternier
Upcoming deadlines for festival registrations
| Event | Format(s) | Deadline |
| SXSW South by SouthWest | Features, shorts, series, XR | Sept. 13, 2022 |
| New York Children's Film Festival | Features and shorts | Oct. 1, 2022 |
| Anima (Brussels) | Features and shorts | Oct. 3, 2022 |
| Tokyo Anime Award Festival | Shorts | Oct. 31, 2022 |
| Tokyo Anime Award Festival | Features | Nov. 10, 2022 |
*If you would like to let us know about a film selection, award, or achievement that we have not mentioned, please contact us: carla.negre@unifrance.org
