**H1: Annecy 2024: Animation Festival Expansion Extravaganza**
• Annecy 2024 Animation Festival is back, now bigger and bolder. Apparently, size really does matter when it comes to animation celebrations!
• In 2023, the event sprung a surprise by adding a new day to the festivities. This year, it’s piling on even more goodies with new venues and extra film screenings.
• The festival’s already packed programme, essentially a joyous jamboree of jubilant animation, is set to dazzle attendees even more this year.
• Nothing screams ‘movie marathon’ like an overflowing competition of short films – all lining up for official recognition at Annecy 2024.
**H2: The Highlights and Humdingers from Skwigly Animation Magazine’s Coverage**
**H3: The Big Picture**
Here’s my hot take. At this rate, Annecy 2024 will need to add an extra week instead of just a day to get through all the goodies they’re packing in. We’re talking animation veneration at an international level – I mean, you might need a map to navigate your way through new venues and extra screenings without getting lost! And those short films? As if deciding what flavor popcorn to get wasn’t difficult enough. But hey, who doesn’t love a buffet of best-in-show animations vying for a gold star? Pack your 3D glasses folks, because this ‘Annecy-spansion’ is becoming the animation equivalent of Disneyland! A cache of creativity, an extravaganza of excitement, and an undoubtedly unforgettable experience – and the only ticket you’ll need is a love for animations. Full stop!
Return of the Giant: Annecy Animation Festival Expands its Horizons! It may sound like a common phrase, but the festival has significantly grown in recent times. In 2023, the event stretched an extra day, while this year, new venues and additional screenings are pushing the boundaries of a jam-packed programme that highlights the best in animation.
Recently, Annecy has started to recognise animation as a mainstream art form, a notion that echoes the sentiments of Guillermo Del Toro’s 2022 proclamation at the festival that ‘Animation is not a genre!’ Broadening its reach, the festival has seen filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Terry Gilliam, Deborah and Zack Snyder, Andy Serkis and even Jean-Paul Gaultier headlining the events. This represents a major shift in the perception of animation over the years. Notably, esteemed names like Regina Pessoa, Henry Selick and Adam Elliot, could have once been the centrepiece of the festival, highlighting how animation has evolved.
As the flurry of sessions, workshops, pitches, meetings and markets created a bustling agenda, the true essence of the event – the films – shouldn’t be overshadowed. In order to give everyone an immersive experience, whether they’re attending the festival or not, I’ll be taking a dive into the short film slots.
Short Films in Competition 1
Magnificently setting the stage for the competition is Marie Vieillevie’s debut short, Kaminhu from France. We delve into the sketchbook of globetrotter Joanna who journeys to the Cape Verde Islands. Her meeting with Lito, a warm-hearted fisherman, encapsulates the vivid hues of the locale while serving as a reminder of her privileged origins.
Kaminhu
Resonating with the style of Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Tennis, Oranges by Sean Pecknold (United States) narrates a tale of an errant robot vacuum and an aged rabbit with a dramaturgic past. The stirring music of Debussy underscores the mutualistic relationship between the rabbit and the appliance, a bond that is charming, funny and deeply moving.
Tennis, Oranges
Kaweauso by Akihito Izuhara (Japan) emerges as a contemplative eulogy to the Japanese sea otter. The underlying message becomes clear as you watch, adding a sense of foreboding and rising tension, subtly pointing the blame towards humankind.
Kawauso
Bringing humor to the segment is Free the Chickens by Matús Vizár (Slovakia Czech Republic). This is a comedic tale about mismatched activists aiming to save a group of pitiful chickens from a battery farm. However, as the rescue mission unfolds, their misguided efforts seem to cause more damage than good, raising questions about their true objectives. Though the premise seems a tad outmoded, the story flow and humour earn it a spot in the lineup.
Free the Chickens
Next up, we have a film that could have featured at any phase of Annecy’s 60-year legacy and that’s not a bad thing. Horse Portrait by Witold Giersz (Poland) offers a series of artistic horse interpretations inspired by great artists including Da Vinci, Picasso, and Rubens. However, the artwork is slightly disrupted by ever-present signatures that appear through the film.
Horse Portrait
Rounding off the first competition slot is La Voix des Sirènes by Gianluigi Toccafondo (France, Italy). This film whisks audiences to a luminous underwater spectacle, inhabited by aquatic creatures and a mermaid with her offspring. The captivating technique and vivid colors effectively bring these characters to life on screen.
La Voix
Original article: https://www.skwigly.co.uk/annecy-2024-short-films-in-competition-official-1/