The Annecy Festival announces the first portion of the Official Selection in competition for the 2020 edition and the juries.
The Festival has received more than 3,000 films, all categories together, from 94 countries (the most represented are: France, USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, China, and South Korea)
- The Short Films in competition: 38 films in the Official and 12 in the Off-Limits category, 19 in the Perspectives section, 10 in the Young Audiences section
- The competition Graduation Films: 44 films
- The competition TV and Commissioned Films: 21 TV Films and 35 Commissioned Films
“On the whole the 2020 Selection is less serious, and funnier, than the previous few years. We still find several films dealing with current themes, in particular ecology, migration and gender identity. Some films – Empty Places by Geoffroy de Crécy, The Physics of Sorrow by Theodore Ushev and Something to Remember by Niki Lindroth Von Bahr – even appear to anticipate the present situation.
We are particularly proud of the quality and variety of the Off-Limits selection, which testifies to the vitality of experimental approaches. In addition, six of the twelve films from this section were directed by women, which represents the level of equity that characterises the selection in the diverse categories of the Short Films. We are also thrilled with the diverse countries where the selected films come from, there are works from Iceland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Indonesia, countries that are rarely represented at Annecy.
The Graduation Films revealed a very high level of productions from the Lodz School in Poland, where three films from this educational institution were selected. Meanwhile the programmes destined for television indicate that this sector is going through a great era with so many audacious and ambitious productions targeted to diverse audiences.“
Marcel Jean, Artistic Director
The list of Feature Films and VR Works in the Official Selection will be announced mid-May.
Check out the official selection
The Annecy 2020 Official Selection is carried out by the Artistic Director, Marcel Jean, the Films & Programme Planning team, Laurent Million, Yves Nougarède and Sébastien Sperer, as well as:
- Peggy Zejgman-Lecarme, Director of the Cinémathèque de Grenoble
- Marie-Pauline Mollaret, Chief Editor of the magazine EcranNoir.fr
- Clémence Bragard, Independent Events Manager specialized in animation film, Programmer of the National Animation Film Festival for the Afca
- Isabelle Vanini, Programmer of the Forum des images (Carrefour du cinéma d’animation…) and “animation expert” for the CNC, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, Ciclic and the César
THE 2020 JURYS
Whoever says Official Selection, says prize-winners: here are those who have the tough task of bestowing the Cristal awards:
Short Films
- Matt KASZANEK, Director, Animation Is Film Festival, USA
- Naomi VAN NIEKERK, Director, Dryfsand, South Africa
- Denis WALGENWITZ, Director, France
Graduation Films & Off-Limits Short Films
- Signe BAUMANE, Director & Producer, My Love Affair With Marriage, Latvia
- Jeanette BONDS, Festival Co-Founder & Director, GLAS Animation – Director & Producer, B&B Pictures, USA
- Thomas RENOLDNER, Director & Head of Selection, Animation Avantgarde at Vienna Shorts Filmfestival, Austria
TV & Commissioned Films
- Marco DE BLOIS, Artistic Director, Les Sommets du cinéma d’animation, Canada
- Dahee JEONG, Director & Producer, Between The Pictures, South Korea
- Diane LAUNIER, Managing Director, Art Ludique Le Musée, France
The festival organisers have confirmed that Annecy 2020 will be a digital online event from 15th to 20th June 2020.
If part of the Festival programme has been carried over to 2021 (60th anniversary and the tribute to animation from the African continent), most of the best of 2020 animation will be available on the platform organisers are currently in the process of developing.
TV Films in Competition
- Bluey “Escape”
Directed by: Joe BRUMM, Richard JEFFERY
Country: Australia - Close Enough “100% No Stress Day”
Directed by: JG QUINTEL
Country: USA - Culottées “Leymah Gbowee”
Directed by: Phuong Mai NGUYEN, Charlotte CAMBON DE LAVALETTE
Country: France - Japan Sinks: 2020 “The Beginning of the End”
Directed by: Masaaki YUASA
Country: USA, Japan - JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales “Boypunzel”
Directed by: J.J. VILLARD
Country: USA - L’amour a ses réseaux “Petit Piment”
Directed by: Romain BLANC-TAILLEUR, Cécile ROUSSET
Country: France - L’Odyssée de Choum
Directed by: Julien BISARO
Country: Belgium, France - Le Quatuor à cornes : là-haut sur la montagne
Directed by: Benjamin BOTELLA, Arnaud DEMUYNCK
Country: France - Les espionnes racontent “Yola”
Directed by: Aurélie POLLET
Country: France - Love, Death & Robots “The Witness”
Directed by: Alberto MIELGO
Country: USA - Mlsne medvedi pribehy “Na lanýze!”
Directed by: Katerina KARHANKOVA, Alexandra MAJOVA
Country: Czech Republic - My Better World
Directed by: Christian MORGAN, Michael CLARK, Johannes Abraham SCHEEPERS
Country: South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania - Non-Non Rétrécit
Directed by: Wassim BOUTALEB
Country: France - Robot Chicken’s Santa’s Dead (Spoiler Alert) Holiday Murder Thing Special
Directed by: Thomas SHEPPARD
Country: USA - Summer Camp Island “Midnight Quittance”
Directed by: Julia POTT
Country: USA - Taffy “DNA”
Directed by: Ahmed GUERROUACHE
Country: France - The Adventures of Paddington “Paddington and the Magic Trick”
Directed by: Adam SHAW
Country: United Kingdom - The Midnight Gospel “Mouse of Silver”
Directed by: Pendleton WARD, Mike L. MAYFIELD
Country: USA - The Snail and the Whale
Directed by: Daniel SNADDON, Max LANG
Country: United Kingdom - The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Directed by: Robin SHAW
Country: United Kingdom - Undone “The Hospital”
Directed by: Hisko HULSING
Country: USA
More information about Annecy 2020 Online content and terms of access will be release soon.
