Over the past few months, French animation has been in the spotlight at numerous events, both general and focused on animation. From the Cannes International Film Festival to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, animation was on the move this spring.
General film festivals
Five features were selected at the Cannes International Film Festival:
- Flow by Gints Zilbalodis
- Into The Wonderwoods by Vincent Paronnaud (Winshluss) and Alexis Ducord
- Savages by Claude Barras
- The Darwinners by Jean-Paul Guigue and Julien Bergeaud
- A Boat In The Garden by Jean-François Laguionie.
Animation film festivals
Spring was punctuated by Animafest Zagreb, along with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The following short films were selected at Animafest Zagreb:
- See You Champion by Alexis Mouron
- Stabat Mater by Quentin Wittevrongel, William Defrance, Hadrien Maton, Coline Thelliez, and Arnaud Mege
Animafest Zagreb Awards (short films)
- Žarko, You Will Spoil the Child! by Veljko Popović and Milivoj Popović: National Competition Grand Prix, Audience Award
- Nube by Christian Arredondo Narváez and Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada: Best Film for Children and Youth
- Aaaah! by Osman Cerfon: Grand Competition Special Mention
- The Perra by Carla Melo Gampert: Grand Competition Special Mention
- On the 8th Day by Agathe Sénéchal, Alicia Massez, Élise Debruyne, Flavie Carin, and Théo Duhautois: Films for Youth Competition Special Mention
- The Miracle by Nienke Deutz: Grand Competition Grand Prix
The following features were selected at Annecy:
- Ghost Cat Anzu by Yoko Kuno and Nobushiro Yamashita
- Into The Wonderwoods by Vincent Paronnaud (Winshluss) and Alexis Ducord
- Flow by Gints Zilbalodis
- The Most Precious of Cargoes by Michel Hazanavicius
- A Boat In The Garden by Jean-François Laguionie
- The Darwinners by Jean-Paul Guigue and Julien Bergeaud
- Animal Tales of Christmas Magic by Camille Alméras, Caroline Attia, Ceylan Beyoglu, Haruna Kishi, Olesya Shchukina, and Natalia Chernysheva
- Savages by Claude Barras
- Living Large by Kristina Dufková
- Flavors of Iraq by Léonard Cohen
Annecy Awards (feature films)
- Flow by Gints Zilbalodis: Jury Award, Best Original Music, Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, Audience Award
- Living Large by Kristina Dufková: Contrechamp Jury Award
Annecy Awards (short films)
- Percebes by Alexandra Ramires and Laura Gonçalves: Cristal for a Short Film
- Hurikán by Jan Saska: Audience Award
- Glass House by Boris Labbé: Off-Limits Award
- Beautiful Men by Nicolas Keppens: Alexeïeff – Parker Awards, Festivals Connexion Award
Audiovisual:
- Une guitare à la mer by Sophie Roze: Cristal for a TV Production, Audience Award
- La Vie de château "Le Fantôme de Versailles" by Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat and Nathaniel H'Limi: Jury Award for a TV Series
- Lola and the Sound Piano by Augusto Zanovello: Jury Award for a TV Special
- Butterfly by Florence Miailhe: André Martin Award for a French Short Film
- Bonjour l'été by Martin Smatana and Veronika Zacharová: Young Audience Award
- Frite sans maillot by Matteo Salanave Piazza: CANAL+ Junior Jury Award
Professional events
In May, on the Unifrance Terrasse at the Cannes International Film Festival, Unifrance (in association with the Marché du Film / Animation Day, Annecy Film Festival, and German Films, hosted a cocktail reception celebrating French animation, bringing together an array of international professionals.
In June, Unifrance was proud to unite all French professionals – whether they came from cinema, the audiovisual sector, short film, or immersive creation – under the same banner at the MIFA and to host a conference in partnership with Europa International (the network of European exporters) on the distribution of animated films in Africa, as well as a morning dedicated to XR and immersive works.
While still at Annecy, French projects in development or production accounted for the majority (12 out of 21) of the works presented in the Work In Progress section this year.
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