39th Annecy International Animation Film Festival

The 2015 Annecy FIFA (Festival International du Film d’Animation) received 2600 films and selected more than 200 (including long and short films) across several sections. This festival was led for the 3rd time by Marcel Jean as “artistic delegate”.

Plenty of films for a very large audience (people with no reservation used to queue more than one hour before the beginning of each screening), Annecy follows the example of every successful festival, growing more and more from year to year.

A great number of movies (in and out of competition) were gathered in various programs and retrospectives – one of them for a country (this year it was Spain) and another for the women’s animation movies. Additionally, MIFA (International Animation Film Market) offered many press conferences and pitches. At last, TV movies and end of studies works were screened.

 Our FIPRESCI jury, comprised of three people (from Spain, France and Denmark) had to choose a winner from the forty-three shorts presented over 5 programs. The award went to Teeth (by Daniel Gray and Tom Brown, USA, Hungary & UK), with a special mention for Guida (Rosana Urbes, Brazil).

Lots of films means lots of prizes… On the top of the palmarès, Avril et le monde truqué, by Franck Ekinci et Christian Desmares (France) got the much wanted “Cristal du long métrage”. A jury prize went to  Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusaiby Keiichi Hara (Japan). The audience awarded Tout en haut du monde, by Rémi Chayé (Denmark – France), and the prize of the “Off-Limits” film was given to Mynarski, chute mortelle, by Matthew Rankin (Canada).

Among all the memories from this festival, we’ll remember for a long time the three standing ovations, from a thousand spectators in the theater, for legendary animator Richard Williams (before and after the screening of his unfinished masterpiece The Thief And The Cobbler, and once more on the closing night). (Gérard Lenne)

Annecy International Animation Film Festival: www.annecy.org