Annecy Festival Residency 2023

The Residency

With backing from the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Département de la Haute-Savoie, Drac, CNC and Netflix, CITIA, the organisers of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the Mifa, wanted to continue supporting animation feature film writers by giving them the time and a place to create, to network, to provide increased visibility, and continuous project support.

The Annecy Festival Residency provides a tailor-made offer to each of the selected projects, in an inspiring and stimulating ecosystem, as well as connecting with esteemed mentors in the animation sector.

A Word from the Selection Committee

A zeitgeist selection. This is how the selection committee could describe its choices for this 4^th edition of the Annecy Festival Residency.

In the image of what festivals and cinemas fervently advocate, the committee was deeply moved by the stories that bring us face to face with the reality of our world and its complexity. Narratives led by authors who employ all their poetic gifts to tackle the "woefully" familiar yet such topical themes as species becoming extinct, being uprooted or imprisonment in times of war.

These promising animation filmmakers cast a candid, well-informed look on our society, acting as both witnesses and protagonists, because film provides us with this limitless scope for interpreting life.

Their works tackle weighty subjects, captured by artists who admirably handle the scriptwriting, artistry and camerawork. The 2024 selection reflects this commitment to supporting courageous, distinctive projects, where hope and art permit the heroes, and the works, to fight the most glorious battles to uphold life.

The committee trusts in the unity that will emerge from these unique encounters, revolving around projects that are so different yet so complementary! We look forward to seeing the results from this successful trio at the Mifa in June!

The 2024 call for projects

Here’s a few key figures, the 2024 edition of the Annecy Festival Residency includes:

• 36 submissions
• 25 different nationalities
• 42% of the projects are led by women

The selection committee had the delicate task of putting together an eclectic and equitable selection from these submissions. The goal was to identify projects that would reap the full benefits of the Residency, ensure an overall coherence, and demonstrate their appeal for the animation film industry.

The selection committee is a broad-based group of animation professionals whose purpose is to thoroughly analyse the projects. For this 2024 edition: Aurel (Cartoonist, Director), Damien Brunner (Producer, Folivari), Jean-Christophe Roger (Director), Sara Wikler (Script Doctor) and Valérie Yendt (Distributor, Gebeka Films).