The 37th Annecy International Animated Film Festival will be held June 10-15, 2013. UniFrance Films will have a booth at the film market for the first time this year.
Organized under the patronage of its new artistic director, Marcel Jean, the 37th Annecy Film Festival shines the spotlight on Poland this year.
The festival's 2013 edition features a program entitled Animation Off-Limits, which aims to explore and test out the "borders of animated film." Another program is dedicated to the theme of resistance in animated filmmaking. In addition to the various festival programs, audiences will be invited to vote for the funniest short film.
The official competition showcases nine features films, including two French productions:
Ma maman est en Amérique, elle a rencontré Buffalo Bill by Marc Boréal and Thibaut Chatel, and
Jasmine by Alain Ughetto.
Another French production will be presented out of competition: Aya de yopougon by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie.
Among preview screenings programmed this year, we can mention, among others, Oggy et les cafards by Olivier Jean-Marie, Despicable Me 2 by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and a selection of extracts of the new 3D series on Calimero.
Twelve French films will compete in the short film category: Betty’s Blues by Rémy Vandenitte, La Grosse Bête by Pierre-Luc Granjon, Le Banquet de la Concubine by Hefang Wei, Les Souvenirs by Renaud Martin, Les Voiles du partage by Pierre Mousquet and Jérôme Cauwe, Lettres de femmes by Augusto Zanovello, Mademoiselle Kiki et les Montparnos by Amélie Harrault, Maman by Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach, Palmipedarium by Jérémy Clapin, Peau de chien by Nicolas Jacquet, and The Caketrope of Burton’s Team by Alexandre Dubosc, and Lonely Bones by Rosto. Ten other shorts are programmed in the student film category.
To coincide with the festival, a program of the 12 French short films in competition will be made available to uniFrance Films members.
The MIFA (International Animated Film Market) has registered a rise in accreditations (particularly international accreditations) and a 25% increase in the number of buyers and distributors attending the event. UniFrance Films has been present at the market in recent years, but this year will hold a booth at the market for the first time.
Numerous events will be organized for professionals at this event, including "Les P'tits Déj du Court" (Short Film Breakfasts), which will welcome all of the directors of short films in competition. The "Midis du Long" (Feature Film Lunches) will offer professionals the opportunity to meet with the directors and crew members of feature films in competition. And finally, the Work in Progress event will give a number of directors, producers, and technicians the chance to present a progress report on their feature film projects.
Between 1999 and 2012, French animated films releases in foreign theaters have registered almost equivalent attendance figures to those in France, with 41.5 million foreign spectators registered, compared to 46.2 million in France.
In 2012, attendance to French animated films in foreign theaters achieved the 3rd highest figures of the past 15 years, registering 5.3 million admissions. Aside from the blockbusters A Monster in Paris and Sammy 2, results for 2011 and 2012 were not the most successful. The Rabbi's Cat, Titeuf, The Painting, Emilie Jolie, Kirikou and the Men and Women, Le Magasin des Suicides, A Cat in Paris, Ernest & Celestine, and The Prodigies all posted somewhat mediocre performances in foreign markets. A string of French animated films with strong commercial potential are slated for release in 2014-2015, including The Little Prince and Asterix et le coup du menhir. Other films are in development stage, such as Oggy et les Cafards, Pourquoi j'ai (pas) mangé mon père, and Ballerina, as well as two Franco-Chinese co-productions, Le Prince et Les 108 Démons and La Ballade de Yaya, which could well prove to be surprise hits in international theaters.
