Annecy 2016 Features Selection Revealed
On top of a number of exciting feature film premieres – such as The Red Turtle, Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets – set to take place at Annecy 2016, this year’s list of officially-selected competitive and non-competitive feature films have also been announced. Nine films will compete for the Best Feature Cristal with a further eleven to play out of competition. Artistic Director Marcel Jean offers his perspectives on the films selected:
25 April (Dir. Leanne Pooley) – New Zealand
In looking back at the Battle of Gallipoli, a tragic episode from WWI, Leanne Pooley delivers a film that will captivate general audiences, animation fans and history buffs alike.
My Life as a Courgette (Dir. Claude Barras) – France
Both funny and touching, My Life as a Courgette has everything it takes to attract big crowds and please critics. Claude Barras has defied the challenge of bringing a group of orphans to life and creating a tangible, realistic world that’s still full of fantasy.
Snowtime! (AKA: Cleo) (Dir. Jean-François Pouliot/François Brisson) – Canada
An animated remake of a classic French Canadian film for children, Snowtime! (Aka: Cleo) was Quebec’s smash hit of 2015. The film’s dramatic effect and meticulous artistry testify to the rapid progress of 3D animation in Quebec.
Nuts! (Dir. Penny Lane) – USA
One of the revelations that came out of the 2016 Sundance Festival, the unique subject matter, aesthetics and inventive structure in Penny Lane’s animated documentary will astonish you.
La Jeune Fille sans Mains (Dir. Sébastien Laudenbach) – France
An important figure in French animated shorts, Sébastien Laudenbach took a leap with this astonishing film, adapted from a lesser-known tale by the Brothers Grimm. He made it single-handedly with a refined graphic style that illustrates his remarkable skill.
Psiconautas, The Forgotten Children (Dir. Pedro Rivero/Alberto Vázquez) – Spain
We were hoping to have this film in 2015 for our tribute to Spanish animation, but here it is a year later. It was worth waiting for as Psiconautas cleverly revives the world from the short Birdboy, which was in competition at Annecy 2011.
Window Horses (Dir. Ann Marie Fleming) – Canada
For over 25 years, Ann Marie Fleming has been elaborating this unclassifiable work that represents fictional film, formal transdisciplinary explorations and animated shorts all at once. Window Horses has a unique approach that takes individual and collective multiculturalism into account and puts it in a context of artistic creation.
Seoul Station (Dir. Sang-ho Yeon) – South Korea
Director Sang-ho Yeon will be in Annecy for the third time with this profoundly original feature film where horror and social realism are blended brilliantly. We are highly enthusiastic about this film that represents the modernity and singularity of Korean animation.
Sheep and Wolves (Dir. Maxim Volkov) – Russia
After having had two feature films selected out of competition over a three-year period, the Moscow studio Wizart makes its way into the official competition with this bold comedy that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
The remaining films that will screen out of competition are as follows:
- Bad Cat (Dir. Mehmet Kurtulus/Ayse Ünal) – Istanbul/Turkey
- Bilal (Dir. Ayman Jamal/Khurram H. Alavi) – United Arab Emirates
- Capture the Flag (Dir. Enrique Gato Borregán) – Spain
- Gamba (Dir. Tomohiro Kawamura/Komori Yoshihiro/Ogawa Yoichi) – Japan
- Kai (Dir. Sung-gang Lee/Sang-ho Yeon) – South Korea
- Manang Biring (Dir. Carl Joseph Papa/Ronald Arguelles) – Philippines
- Monkey King: Hero is Back (Dir. Tian Xiaopeng) – China
- Pat and Mat (Dir. Marek Beneš) – Czech Republic
- Regular Show: The Movie (Dir. JG Quintel) – USA
- The Anthem of the Heart (Dir. Tatsuyuki Nagai/Shunsuke Saito) – Japan
- Un Rêve Solaire (Dir. Patrick Bokanowski) – France
For more on this year’s edition of the Annecy Festival visit annecy.org