The Festival Unveils Its Annecy Classics Programme and Completes the Annecy Presents

Annecy Classics

The 2024 Annecy Classics selection of restored films and documentaries devoted to animation is richer than ever.
 

Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert is a documentary directed by Loïc Darses and about the esteemed Canadian animator, known for both his engraving on film and his collaborations with musicians as part of live animation performances for audiences.

On Tuesday 11^th June, the Annecy Festival will take advantage of screening the film to present an Honorary Cristal to Pierre Hébert, in recognition of the pioneering nature of his work that has spanned 60 years. "In 1997, Annecy paid tribute to Pierre Hébert for the first time by devoting a retrospective to him," remembers the Artistic Director Marcel Jean. "Since then, Hébert hasn’t stopped creating and reinventing himself, notably through his impressive series Lieux et monuments. This Honorary Cristal highlights the ongoing research and the persistence of a remarkable, rigorous approach."
 

Why Pinscreen? is an invitation for Director Brice Vincent to reflect on the creative process of constraint, as he examines the renewed interest in pinscreen animation, this tool invented by Alexandre Alexeïeff and Claire Parker almost a century ago. This film’s screening is a collaborative venture between Annecy and the CNC, the acquisition and restoration by the CNC of the "Épinette", a pinscreen designed by the Alexeïeff-Parker couple between 1976 and 1977, was at the root of the revival to create using this technique. 
 

History, Mystery, Odyssey: 6 Portland Animators by Martin Cooper takes us on a tour of one of the most influential independent animation melting pots in the USA: Portland, Oregon. Here, we discover the works of Jim Blashfield, Rose Bond, Joan C. Gratz, Zak Margolis, Joanna Priestley and Chel White.
 

Directed by Rudy Pinceel, Servais paints a portrait of the legendary Belgian animation filmmaker, just when the Mu.ZEE – the art museum on the sea – in Ostend is about to reserve two permanent exhibition rooms dedicated to him.
 

"100 Years of Shorts" is a 10 short film programme charting the history of animation production at Warner Bros. From Friz Freleng to Rebecca Sugar, from Tex Avery to Genndy Tartakovsky, from Chuck Jones to Ben Bocquelet, from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to Nick Edwards, craziness, frenzy, imagination and humour take centre stage.
 

In 2009, Coraline won the Cristal for a Feature Film at Annecy. 15 years after its release, the fearless girl is back in a version restored by LAIKA Studios. Screened in 3D and in the presence of Henry Selick, this now classic feature film will appeal to young and old alike.

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"An Emerald Necklace: Restorations by the Cinémathèque québécoise" features seven Canadian independent animation films restored by the Cinémathèque québécoise. The programme notably includes Smaragdin, by Jean Letarte, which was in the official competition at the very first Annecy Festival in 1960. Long lost, the film was rediscovered in 2020 by Marco de Blois, in the light of the Festival’s 60th anniversary. Also, on the programme Nice Day in the Country by Chris Hinton, Kidnappé by Thomas Corriveau and Old Orchard Beach P.Q. by Michèle Cournoyer.
 

Lastly, "When the Credits Become Animated" offers an overview of the most stunning animated fiction feature film credits. Saul Bass, Richard Williams, Terry Gilliam, Gil Alkabetz and Gianluigi Toccafondo are some of the artists who have contributed to developing the art of credits.
 

Annecy Classics

Annecy Presents

4 new films enrich the selection which now includes a total of 16 non-competitive films. Here are more details on the four new selected works as well as a recap on the previously announced works.
 

Panda Bear in Africa by Richard Claus and Karsten Kiilerich – France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark
Produced by: Cool Beans, Katuni, A Film, COMET Films, Le Pacte
Distributed by: Le Pacte

Ping is a young panda who lives in an idyllic village in the middle of China. But when his best friend, Jielong the dragon, is kidnapped to be given as a gift to a spoilt young lion, Ping doesn’t waste a second: he sets off on an adventure that will take him all the way to Africa!
 

Flavors of Iraq (Le Parfum d'Irak) by Leonard Cohen – France
Produced by: Miyu Productions, Nova Production, ARTE France Cinéma, Lunanime
Distributed by: Mediawan Rights

The Fatiha is the first sura of the Koran. In Muslim tradition, it is also the name used for the ceremony to pay tribute to the deceased. Today, it's Amir’s Fatiha, Feurat Alani’s father, a French and Iraqi journalist. It’s the opportunity for his friends and family to reflect on Amir's story, and for Feurat to revisit his own story and Iraq's history.
 

Look Back by Kiyotaka Oshiyama – Japan
Produced by: Studio DURIAN
Distributed by: Eurozoom, avex pictures, Inc.

The overly confident Fujino and introverted Kyomoto couldn't be more different. Their love of drawing manga is the one thing connecting these contrasting girls. However, one day something happens to them that shatters everything. A heart-wrenching and impactful story about growing up.
 

BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE: EPISODE NAGI by Shunsuke Ishikawa – Japan
Produced by: Eight Bit
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment France, Crunchyroll SAS

"That’s a hassle." That was second-year high-schooler Nagi Seishiro’s favorite phrase as he lived his dull life. Until Mikage Reo, a classmate who dreamed of winning the World Cup, discovered Nagi’s hidden skill, inspiring him to play soccer and share his outstanding talent. One day, he receives an invitation to the mysterious Blue Lock Project. What awaits him there is an encounter with the finest strikers assembled from across the country. Nagi’s dream of becoming the best, alongside Reo, will take this prodigy to a world he’s never known.
 

Previously announced films:

• Buffalo Kids by Juan Jesús García Galocha, Pedro Solís
  Produced by: 4 Cats Pictures – Spain
• Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram by Chika Nagaoka 
  Produced by: Detective Conan Production Committee – Japan
• Diplodocus (Diplodok) by Wojtek Wawszczyk
  Produced by: Human.film – Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia
• Extinction by Behnoud Nekooei 
  Produced by: Magic Picture Films – Malaysia
• The Garfield Movie by Mark Dindal 
  Produced by: DNEG Animation, Alcon Entertainment, One Cool Group, Wayfarer Studios, Stage 6 Films, John Cohen Productions, Andrews McMeel Entertainment, Prime Focus Studios – USA
• Give It All by Yuhei Sakuragi 
  Produced by: MOE/REIRS – Japan
• Animal Tales of Christmas Magic (Le Grand Noël des animaux) by Camille Alméras, Caroline Attia Larivière, Ceylan Beyoglu, Haruna Kishi, Natalia Chernysheva, Olesya Shchukina 
  Produced by: Les Valseurs – France, Germany
• Out of the Nest by Arturo Hernandez, Andrew Gordon 
  Produced by: T&B Media Global Thailand co., Ltd. – Thailand, China
• Fox and Hare Save the Forest by Mascha Halberstad 
  Produced by: Submarine Animation B.V., Walking the Dog – WTD, Doghouse Films – Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium
• Sand Land by Toshihisa Yokoshima 
  Produced by: Bandai Namco Filmworks – Japan
• The Sloth Lane by Tania Vincent, Ricard Cussó
  Produced by: Like a Photon Creative – Australia
• The Worlds Divide by Denver Jackson 
  Produced by: Cloudrise Pictures – Canada

Annecy Presents