35th Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which ran June 6-11, 2011, on the shores of Lake Annecy (France), is a great and unique opportunity to certify the worldwide booming of animation industry.

From students and fans to studio executives and popular directors (this year Bill Plympton and Carlos Saldanha), every member of the animation community attends the festival — and the market MIFA (450 exhibitors and 238 buyers in 2011).

Pretty thorough, the official competition includes feature movies (9 were selected for this year’s edition), short films (40), TV films (39), commissioned films (32) and graduation films (59). 

The FIPRESCI Jury, which focused on feature movies and short films, gave its 2011 prize to Luminaris by Juan Pablo Zaramella, from Argentina — a both charming and ingenious short film.

Out of competition, the festival was also very much enjoyed for its premieres (especially the much acclaimed The Prodigies by Antoine Charreyron) and its “Work in progress” sessions which give a preview of feature-length animation in production: this year, the very promising French feature movie La mecanique du coeur (The Boy with the cuckoo-clock heart) and the much awaited Albator — Le corsaire de l’espace (Space Pirate – Captain Harlock) — with the presence of Leiji Matsumot (creator of anime classic Captain Harlock) and the world premiere of the 3D trailer.

Last but not least, the general public is not left behind thanks to very popular open-air screenings: about 5000 people attend them each year! (Mathilde Lorit)

Annecy International Animation Film Festival: www.annecy.org