Annecy is to animation as Cannes is to Film. Like Cannes, there is no particular reason why this small and rather attractive town on a lake in the French Alps should host the world's biggest animation festival – except for the fact that they have always done so. They got there first, and while many towns and cities now have animation festivals, Annecy is the first, the original, the biggest and still the best.
Any animator who wants to make a career in the business needs to go to Annecy. Even if you only go once, go there just to say you have been. Annecy is full of professional animators, studios, recruiters, students, pr folks – in short, everyone in the business.
This year the festival runs from Monday 10th to Saturday 15th June, and the highlights include:
- Monsters University (the opening film)
- Get a Horse!
- Aya de Yopougon
- Despicable Me 2
- Oggy and the Cockroaches, the Movie
- Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (extracts)
236 films are in competition for the Cristal in categories for features, short films, TV and commissioned films and graduation films. The winners will be revealed on 15th June.
For more information check out their official website here.
—Alex