Over the past few months, French animation has been in the spotlight at a number of festivals, both general and specifically focused on animation. From the Animation First Festival to the Berlin International Film Festival, not to mention a host of other events, animation has been on the move this winter!
General film festivals
An animated short film was selected at the Berlin International Film Festival:
- Yuck! by Loïc Espuche (photo)
Animation film festivals
Winter was punctuated by two animation festivals, the Animation First Festival and Anima.
The following works were selected at the two aforementioned events:
Features:
- Mars Express by Jérémie Périn
- Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds by Benoît Chieux
- Nina and the Tales of the Hedgehog by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
- Robot Dreams by Pablo Berger
- The Siren by Sepideh Farsi
Short films:
- 27 by Flóra Anna Buda
- The Purple Season by Clémence Bouchereau
- Peeping Mom by Francis Canitrot
- Summer 96 by Mathilde Bédouet
- The Great Arc by Camille Authouart
- The Miracle by Nienke Deutz
- Aaaah! by Osman Cerfon
- The Perra by Carla Melo Gampert
- El Ombligo de la luna by Sara António, Julia Grupińska, Bokang Koatja, Tian Westraad, and Ezequiel Garibay
Awards:
- The Purple Season by Clémence Bouchereau: Best Francophone Short 2024 at the Animation First Festival
MyFrenchFilmFestival
MyFrenchFilmFestival, the online event organized by Unifrance, selected two animated features and five shorts:
Features:
Short films:
- Cuddle by Margot Reumont
- Atomic Chicken by Thibault Ermeneux, Lucie Lyfoung, Solène Polet, Capucine Prat, Morgane Siriex, and Anna Uglova
- In the Dance by Ekaterina Mikheeva
- Two Friends by Natalia Chernysheva
- To Be Sisters by Anne-Sophie Gousset and Clément Céard
Awards:
- No Dogs or Italians Allowed by Alain Ughetto: Audience Award for a Feature Film and International Press Award.
Professional events
This winter, Unifrance was present at the following two major professional events: Kidscreen Summit and Cartoon Movie.
French works were also well represented at these professional meetings.
Kidscreen Summit
Unifrance was present at the Kidscreen Summit, the most important annual trade event in the children's entertainment sector, which took place from February 4 through 7 for the first time in San Diego (California).
Unifrance accompanied some twenty audiovisual production companies specializing in animation, most of which were hosted at a dedicated space at the Unifrance stand.
Cartoon Movie
At Cartoon Movie, the co-production and pitching event for European animated features held in Bordeaux from March 5 through 7, France was the best-represented country, with 15 projects (27% of the selection). A strong presence of French animation production and sales companies was also noted.
International award ceremonies
French works were also well represented at award ceremonies, both in France and abroad.
Cesar Awards - French film industry awards
Nominated for the Best Animated Short Film:
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film
- No Dogs or Italians Allowed by Alain Ughetto
- Mars Express by Jérémie Périn
- Chicken for Linda! by Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta
An animated film was nominated in the short documentary film category:
Awards:
- Summer 96 by Mathilde Bédouet: Best Animated Short Film
- Chicken for Linda! by Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta: Best Animated Feature Film
Academy Awards
Nominated for Best Animated Feature
Nominated for Best Animated Short
European Film Awards (EFA)
The European Film Awards (EFA) took place on December 9, 2023, and several French productions were among the official selection in the Animation category:
Nominated for the European Animated Feature Film
Nominated for the European Short Film
Awards
- Robot Dreams by Pablo Berger: European Animated Feature Film
