10 Things Not to Miss @ Annecy 2019
Among the many fantastic short films, commissioned films, features, and VR projects in competition that you can take in (and at over 200 films, we couldn’t possibly feature them all here), each year the Annecy festival hosts a number of one-off events that you just don’t want to miss.
With Annecy growing year on year, it’s more difficult than ever to select just ten highlights from the festival, which takes place between Monday 10th to Saturday 15th June. However, read through, or simply skim the list below for some inspiration! (Click the titles for more information.)
Work in Progress: Klaus
When & Where: Wed 12 June, 9:30am @ Salle Pierre Lamy
Director Sergio Pablos will be presenting a work in progress on Klaus – a Santa Claus origin story told from the perspective of a young Scandinavian postman – with his production designers, Szymon Biernacki and Marcin Jakubowski. Open to Students, Meetings and Mifa badgeholders. If you haven’t been following the news of this stunning feature film, keep your eyes out on Skwigly over the coming months.
Netflix Animation: A Studio Without Borders
When & Where: Wed 12 June, 4pm @ Impérial Palace Salle de l’Europe
In this studio focus session, Netflix Animation will be presenting four of their series and feature creators, as they share their passion for their upcoming projects. Speakers (and projects) will include: Kris Pearn (Director of The Willoughbys [image above]), Malenga Mulendema (Creator of Mama K’s Team 4), Hitoshi Mogi (Creator of Dino Girl Gauko), and Elizabeth Ito (Creator of City of Ghosts). Open to Students, Meetings and Mifa badgeholders.
Women In Animation (WIA) Summit
When & Where: Mon 10 June, 9am to 5:30pm @ Impérial Palace Salle de l’Europe
This day long symposium of panels and discussions will shine a spotlight on top executives, filmmakers and artists, covering a range of topics affecting women working in the animation industry today. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Belonging” You can view the program line up and list of speakers here. Open to Mifa badgeholders.
VR Dome
When & Where: Every day, 12-7pm @ Haras VR Dome
In this brand new dedicated area, the festival-goers and the general public will be able to try out this immersive technology for free throughout the Festival week. There are 20 different projects to view, lasting between 2 and 22 minutes. For the full programme, click the title above.
Master Your Career in Animation/VFX
When & Where: Tue 11 June, 11:30am @ Impérial Palace Verdi
A panel of animation and VFX talent recruiters and artists from Europe and the USA will share their insights and tips on how to jump start your career, polish reel and portfolio, navigate the paths of job searching and most importantly stay hired and relevant for retention with studios. Open to Students and Mifa badgeholders.
The Making of Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe
When & Where: Fri 14 June, 4:30pm @ Salle Pierre Lamy
Creator Rebecca Sugar and executive producer Ian Jones-Quartey will present an overview of Cartoon Network’s Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated Steven Universe. Open to Students, Meetings and Mifa badgeholders.
Swing Behind-the-Scenes of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
When & Where: Tue 11 June @ 2pm @ Impérial Palace Rotonde de l’Europe
Sony Pictures Imageworks FX Supervisors Ian Farnsworth and Pav Grochola will discuss the techniques used to create this innovative animated feature, and how the Imageworks team were forced to rethink how they approached effects animation.
Toy Story 4 / Frozen 2
When & Where: Fri 14 June @ Bonlieu Grande salle – Frozen 2 (10:30am) – Toy Story 4 (4pm)
For all the Disney and/or Pixar fans out there, there is double the excitement on Friday… The morning will see Disney’s Head of Animation, Becky Bresee, show the first images of Frozen 2, several months before its official release. While the afternoon will see the “French premiere” of Toy Story 4 with director Josh Cooley in attendance.
Work in Progress: Brazen
When & Where: Wed 12 June, 2pm @ Salle Pierre Lamy
This work in progress will take a look behind the scenes of a 30-episode series which portrays 30 women, who are all revolutionary in their own way… “30 women who chose their own destinies and changed the world: apache warrior, Hollywood star, lighthouse keeper, cosmonaut or empress. Known or unknown, these Brazen women smashed existing prejudices into smithereens.” Open to Students, Meetings and Mifa badgeholders.
Skwigly Rounders Game / Nik and Nancy’s Picnic
When & Where: Sat 15th June, 12pm @ Park next to lake near peddle boats
Taking place during Nik and Nancy‘s annual picnic, the Skwigly/Joanna Quinn rounders game is an annual tradition to complete your week. A great chance to meet some new friends in an incredibly informal and friendly game of rounders – made up completely of animators! Someone will be going home with the coveted trophy. The game is followed by a paddle boat race on the lake. Bring some food, drink, and musical instruments! Everyone welcome.
There’s more…
OK, we know this was a ‘Top 10 List’ kind of article, but we struggled too much to restrict it to ten events… Here is a quick list of 5 more things you may want to check out:
- How Do You Create a Credible Villain in an Animation Film Creation – Major talents from animation film reveal their secrets of creating characters that made Hitchcock say: “The better the vilain, the better the picture”
- SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout – SpongeBob celebrates his birthday in a new, unreleased episode conjured up by Nickelodeon!
- Tribute to Japanese Animation: Treasures from Early Japanese Animation – A selection of cherished and ambitious archives on a trip back to the past: covering the decades from 1917 to 1946
- Happiness Machine – a short films’ programme from 20 European women animators and composers, discussing the topic: to what extent does the current economic climate affect our lives and right to happiness?
- Annecy Classics: Animation Outlaws – Learn about the crazy origins of animation festivals in the USA. An homage to the genius of the legendary Spike & Mike presented by Kat Alioshin
SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout
Exhibitions
Finally, if you find yourself wandering around the town with no screening to go to and an hour to spare, then you can always check out one (or all) of these ongoing exhibitions/showcases, which are open throughout the day, and over the week:
- VR Works in Competition – get a headset on and try out these 9 virtual reality projects; taking place every weekday at the Bonlieu Salle de création
- The Artistic Journey of the Saga How to Train Your Dragon – For one last time dive into the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy with an exclusive exhibition displaying over 200 works from the making of
- Playmobile – That’s a Wrap! – A walk-through gallery at the Centre Courier (shopping centre), where you can immerse yourself in the film’s universe, and discover how the teams evolved the little toys into animated characters
- Beast Animation – 15 Years of Handmade Animation – The Belgian stop-motion studio is celebrating their 15th anniversary at Annecy. Sets, characters, handmade miniature objects, and more, will be on display, including materials from A Town Called Panic and The Magnificent Cake!
Beast Animation 15 Years of Handmade Animation
If you see us around in Annecy (look out for Skwigly t-shirts or jackets), come and say hello, otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at the Skwigly Rounders Game/Nancy’s Picnic!