Annecy, the global capital of animation until June 19… Almost the same as before

After an all-digital 2020 release due to the pandemic, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival returned on Monday with some of its participants and audience. The festival celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

Annecy International Animation Film Festival It opens on Mondays, in Annecy, and runs until June 19. Marking its 60th anniversary (celebrated a year later), this year’s festival honors Animation cinema in Africa. This is the first major international cultural event that has welcomed an audience in France for a year and a half. The 2021 edition will be without a health permit, but with a scale set at 1,000 people at various screening sites. explanations.

guard examination center

“We are not obligated to the health card, because in all the places where we will work and they are all far away, we will never have more than 1,000 people at the moment T, otherwise, we will be required to health success”, specific Michael Marin, Festival Director. If a large screen is not installed this year in the Pâquier due to the curfew, it will be possible to attend free shows early in the evening at the Annecy stud farm. “Throughout the week, thanks to the support of the ARS, we will have a tent that will allow Covid testing in the stud container.”

Healthy bubble at Bonlieu

In the large Bonlieu hall, where the films of the official selection are shown, a strict sanitary protocol was established. “Obviously there will be controlled queues, mask everywhere, freeze, spacing, a whole bunch of protocols in rooms, on stage or otherwise, and then for some foreign guests, those are the rules that apply. Tests are applied. PCR at the entrance to the territory, but the few European additives that would be present were vaccinated with both doses, so we tried to create the best possible health bubble.”

Three private sessions

Those lucky enough to get their credits will be able to attend three special screenings during the week, for several of the feature films in competition: Indomitable spirit, The business dream This summer (show at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 15), Even mice go to heavenHaute-Savoie, a French, Polish and Czech film, animated part by studio swan movies, based in Annecy (Preview of the show Wednesday, June 16 at 2:30 p.m.) and LucasThe latest from the studios Pixar (Showing Thursday, June 17 at 8:30 pm)

Animation cinema withstood the crisis and confinement well

This year, more than 2,700 films were selected, which is unprecedented. Evidence that the sector has withstood the crisis well. “The majority of animation technologies today involve the use of computers (…) in animation, and there is a lot of co-production, collaborations between different studios that are often moved to different locations, so the production models are very close to working remotely at first,” explain Marcel Jean, artistic delegate of the festival.

“This kind of production was a lot less slow than the rest of the cinema, production went at practically the usual pace (…) this year, the films that were presented to us were of high quality on the one hand, and then we had so many, that we ended up with competition from More feature films than at any time in Annecy’s history.”

>>> Find all programming on the festival website.

2021 edition in numbers

• The International Animated Film Festival (FIFA), which has been held in Annecy since 1960, celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. It’s about 2nd Film Festival in France After the Cannes Film Festival.
• a Maximum load capacity is 5000 approved persons Hired this year due to restrictions related to the health crisis (versus 12,300 in 2019 and 15,570 last year during the online release)
• More than 2,700 films have been selected in ten categories : short films, feature films (highest category), graduation films, television and commissioned films, virtual reality works, and over 10 special awards.