Annecy 2024, showcasing Animation’s most electrifying experiences

Rossella Arena unfolds for EAJ the diverse program of Annecy Festival.

The 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, held from June 9-15, set a new attendance record with 17,400 accredited participants from 103 countries. This important figure does not include the 6500 accredited attendees of the International Animation Film Market – MIFA (11-14 June), nor the 4120 students. In total, the festival welcomed 125,000 visitors.

To accommodate the unprecedented crowds, the festival expanded its footprint, occupying large parts of the city, and securing additional screens in local theatres. For this edition, the Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy received over 3,400 film submissions worldwide. 

The event featured a diverse program, including a tribute to Portuguese animation, a new section exploring the relationship between animation and dance, and introducing the non-competitive Annecy Presents category, to showcase feature films for the general public and young audiences. While Annecy remains a flagship destination for European animation and independent productions, the festival is devoting more and more space to international animation and future box office successes. 

The artistry of short films

Short films are highly anticipated by the Annecy audience, and here are five that particularly stood out. Percebes (Portugal), winner of the Cristal for Best Short Film, follows the entire life cycle of the percebes mollusc, showing different aspects of the region through various contexts. The Car that came back from the Sea (Switzerland) has a distinctive comic-strip style, and charts the fun road trip of six friends along the Polish Baltic Coast, until the country starts to fall apart. 

Beautiful Men (Belgium, France, Netherlands) is a tender work about three balding brothers who travel to Istanbul for a hair transplant, and get to know each other better.

La Voix des Sirènes (France, Italy), in which each frame has a particular painting and collage aesthetic, sees a mermaid give birth to two children, one of whom is forced to flee to the surface world, where he discovers unexpected pleasures.

In Hurikán (Czech Republic, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina), set in a wild district of Prague, the protagonist must contend with robbers, police and his beer thirst. 

New Cinematic/TV gems

Among the Films in Competition, Flow (Latvia) was a hit at the festival, winning 4 prizes including the Audience Award and the Jury Award. Guillermo Del Toro heralded it as “the future of animation”.

In between Midnight specials, Spermageddon, a Norwegian CG musical comedy about sex and reproduction from the perspective of sperm cells, was much appreciated. 

In the new Annecy Presents category, Buffalo Kids (Spain), distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment is set in America in 1886, and tells the story of and two Irish siblings, Mary (9) and Tom (12), who arrive on an ocean liner to the hustle and bustle of New York City. Panda Bear in Africa is a French/German/Dutch/Danish animated film about a young panda who travels from China to Africa to rescue his dragon friend. The movie incorporates a wide range of animal characters that symbolise human beings.

A new 5×30′ series, Astérix and Obélix, The Big Fight, co-written and co-directed by Alain Chabat, is in the works for Netflix , and is expected to launch in the first half of 2025. The project is supported on the production side by TAT productions (tatprod) .

Several WIP (work-in-progress) projects were popular with festival spectators, including The Upside Down River series, an adaptation of the popular children’s novel La rivière à l’envers, the movies Les légendaires and Olivia and the invisible earthquake, not to mention virtual reality titles such as Pagnol le magicien. 

MIFA Memo

MIFA 2024 was a resounding success, with a record number of 1,100 exhibitors. A strong emphasis was placed on the XR & Games sector, with a dedicated area of 1,000 m² and several masterclasses and conferences. The MIFA Animation Industry Award went to Ankama, one of the key players in this new space. 

Many major companies held press conferences during the 4-day exhibition, including (ex) IMPS/The Smurfs ( now PEYO COMPANY ) and Mediawan .

Fortiche Production announced they are developing the feature film Penelope of Sparta, based on characters from Homer’s Odyssey, aimed at audiences 13 and up. 

Xilam Animation showcased an impressive array of new projects, including numerous series such as The Doomies for Disney Branded Television ; Twilight of the Gods for Netflix, a fantastic retelling of Norse mythology for an adult target; My Life in Versailles, winner of the Jury Prize, the fourth season of Athleticus; and the new feature film Meanwhile on Earth. 

International proposals 

Indian animation had a strong presence at the festival, with various initiatives and productions showcased. One of the biggest highlights was the new Namasté MIFA pitch event, which  presented four Indian projects (Hide & Seek, Rising Tides, Lala and Table for One), reflecting diverse themes such as sports, food, gender, and tradition. 

Adam Elliot’s stop-motion Memoir of a Snail, a hilarious Australian movie about an outsider named Grace who finds solace in hoarding snails, won the top Cristal prize. Also notable was the new Netflix movie dedicated to Aardman’s most iconic duo, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fow (UK). From the US, the anime fantasy Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (Warner Bros), and The Wild Robot ( DreamWorks Animation , distributed by Universal Pictures ), based on the book series by Peter Brown, generated excitement.    

Previews of sequels to box-office hits were enthusiastically received. Audiences were captivated and entertained by Inside Out 2 ( Pixar Animation Studios / The Walt Disney Company ), Despicable me 4 ( Universal/ Illumination ) and Moana 2 (Disney).