France was well represented these past few months in animation festivals such as Animatou, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Bucheon International Animation Festival in South Korea.
Ottawa International Animation Festival
France was particularly prominent in Ottawa with a large selection of animated films. This year, we note the presentation of three feature films:
This selection was completed by 12 short films. At the end of the 2022 edition, French works received many awards:
- Grand Prize for Animated Feature for Dozens of Norths by Koji Yamamura
- Grand Prize for Short Animation for Bird in the Peninsula by Atsushi Wada
- Animation for Young Audiences 7+ Competition for Luce and the Rock by Britt Raes
- Best Design (Animated Short Competition - Craft Awards) for Backflip by Nikita Diakur
- Best Narrative for Letter to a Pig by Tal Kantor
- Virtual Reality Competition for Biolum by Abel Kohen
- Bento Award for Best Student Animation for The Seine's Tears by Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard, Alice Letailleur, Nicolas Mayeur, Étienne Moulin, Hadrien Pinot, Philippine Singer, Lisa Vicente
Animatou
Animatou in Geneva had its share of French works presented in competition in various sections, with 27 short films in total, and a number of prizewinners:
- Pistache Prize and School Prize (4-5P) for Opération Père Noël by Marc Robinet
- School Prize (1-3P) for Giuseppe by Isabelle Favez
- School Prize (10-11P) for La Meute by Lou-Anne Abdou, Antoine Blossier Gacic, Louise Cottin-Euziol, Charline Hedreville and Gabriel Saint-Frison
- Caramel Prize for Franzy's Soup Kitchen by Ana Chubinidze
- Doc’Anim Prise for Freedom Swimmer by Olivia Martin-McGuire
CINEKID
CINEKID Festival offered many French films to Amsterdam audiences during the 2022 edition. The lineup included three feature films:
- Yuku and the Flower of the Himalayas by Arnaud Demuynck and Rémi Durin
- Where Is Anne Frank by Ari Folman
- My Father's Secrets by Véra Belmont
And 10 short films:
- L’Enfant et l’Oie by Jade Chastan, Alice Failla, Jérôme Ginesta, Justine Hermetz, Sophie Lafleur, and Vincent Lenne
- Kayak by Solène Bosseboeuf, Flore Dechorgnat, Tiphaine Klein, Auguste Lefort, and Antoine Rossi
- Franzy's Soup Kitchen by Ana Chubinidze
- The Singing Shadows by Virginie Pellet, Srushti Kakade, Anne Astride Lalouette, Manon Bernard Vigne, Myrtil Lapierre, Louna Piette, and Marine Guarnaccia
- Morning Challenges by Maša Avramović
- Sand Pie by Katerina Karhankova
- Luce and the Rock by Britt Raes
- No-No Goes to Space by Wassim Boutaleb Jutai
- Goutte d’Eau by Mélodie Léger-Rimbert, Kévin Hamimi, Yu Liu, and Anjun Zou
- When I Am Sad by Lilit Altunyan
The Cinekid Lion for Best Children's Film 2022 went to Yuku and the Flower of the Himalayas.
BIAF
The Bucheon International Animation Festival welcomed 21 French works this year including 14 short films, four feature films, two audiovisual programs, and a virtual reality work. It was therefore a wide selection with 10 prizes awarded. No Dogs or Italians Allowed by Alain Ughetto received the Grand Prize for a Feature Film in the International Competition. Nayola by José Miguel Ribeiro was awarded the COCOMICS Music Prize and DHL Diversity Prize. welcomed 21
In the International Competition (Short Film), Scale by Joseph Pierce received the Jury Prize, Christopher at Sea by Tom CJ Brown received a Special Mention, as did Two Sisters by Anna Budanova and El After del Mundo by Florentina Gonzalez. Canary by Pierre-Hugues Dallaire and Benoit Therriault was awarded the EBS Prize Short Film and À cœur perdu by Sarah Saidan received the cocone M Prize.
In the International Competition (TV) the Jury Prize went to Charlie Belin's Funny Birds.
Animation Is Film Festival
Festivalgoers attending the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles were able to discover two French features and two shorts this year:
- Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre
- Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vázquez
- Steakhouse by Čadež Špela
- Inglorious Liaisons by Violette Delvoye and Chloé Alliez
At the end of the event, Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be was awarded the Grand Jury Prize.
Spark Animation
No less than 15 French creations, including 14 shorts and one feature film (Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vázquez) were presented at Spark Animation 2022. France once again reaped awards: Ice Merchants received Best in Show, Boom a Special Mention - Comedy (Student Short), L'Autre Rive a Special Mention - Social Message (Student Short), and Little Things a Mention Special Mention - Technical Achievement.
Animation First
28 French works will be presented to the New York public during the Animation First festival organized from January 27 to 29 by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF).
Among the feature film selection, Little Nicholas - Happy as Can Be will be screened on opening night, L'Île by Anca Damian will be presented as part of a program dedicated to the director. The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess by Michel Ocelot, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Pierre Földes, Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vázquez, and No Dogs or Italians Allowed by Alain Ughetto will complete this fine selection of French animated features.
18 French animated shorts are also on the festival's program, as well as four immersive works:
- La Plage de sable étoilé by Nina Barbier and Huang Hsin-Chien
- Seven Grams by Karim Ben Khelifa
- All Unsaved Progress Will Be Lost by Mélanie Courtinat
- In Search of Paradise by Anca Damian
Anima
The Brussels' festival Anima has announced the short films selected for its 2023 edition and we are pleased to find a strong French presence with 50 short films in different sections.
selection will be revealed in the coming weeks, we can already announce that many French professionals will have the floor during the "Futuranima" professional meetings. Two French films in production will be presented: The Inventor, by Jim Capobianco, and Melvile, by Romain Renard. Amandine Fredon will also be there to present a making-of of Little Nicholas – Happy As Can Be.
