‘April and the Extraordinary World,’ ‘We Can’t Live Without Cosmos’ Top Annecy

Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci’s sci-fi fable, and Konstantin Bronzit’s short but sweet exploration of brotherly bonds set against an astronomical backdrop, led the awardees at this year’s Annecy Film Festival — to the outer limits.

As we reported, it’s not hard to see why GKIDS acquired Desmares and Ekinci’s April and the Extraordinary World, which landed Annecy’s Cristal for Feature Film and touches down in North America early next year. It’s an intriguingly rendered dystopia, based on the graphic novel from Jacques Tardi, about a Parisian girl navigating an alternate WWII history where technology has been shut down and scientists are imprisoned.

Annecy’s Cristal for Short Film went to Bronzit’s We Can’t Live Without Cosmos (TRAILER), a tale of two inseparable astronauts trying to make it to the stars. It’s another international nod for the Russian film, which also picked up the grand prize at Animafest Zagreb just one week earlier. Bronzit’s other festival favorites include At the Ends of the Earth and the Oscar-nominated Lavatory Lovestory.

The festival winners were announced last Saturday in Annecy, France. A complete list of winners is below:

OFFICIAL PRIZES

Cristal for a Feature Film
April and the Extraordinary World
Frank Ekinci, Christian Desmares (France, Canada, Belgium)

Cristal for a Short Film
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)

Cristal for a TV Production
Hello World! “Long-Eared Owl”
Eric Serre (France)

Cristal for a Commissioned Film
Rotary “Fateline”
Suresh Eriyat (India)

Cristal for a Graduation Film
My Dad
Marcus Armitage (UK)

FEATURE FILMS

Jury Award
Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai
Keichi Hara (Japan)

Audience Award
Long Way North
Remi Chaye (France, Denmark)

SHORT FILMS

Jury Award
The Master
Riho Unt (Estonia)

Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for a First Film
Guida
Rosana Urbes (Brazil)

Jury Distinction and Audience Award
World of Tomorrow
Don Hertzfeldt (USA)

ANIMATION OFF-LIMITS

Off-Limits Award
Mynarski Death Plummet
Matthew Rankin (Canada)

TV FILMS

Jury Award for a TV Series
Rita and Crocodile “Fishing”
Siri Melchior (Denmark, UK)

Jury Award for a TV Special
The Mitten (La Moufle)
Clementine Robach (France, Belgium)

COMMISSIONED FILMS

Jury Award
NSPCC “Lucy and the Boy”
Yves Geleyn (UK)

GRADUATION FILMS

Jury Award
Edmond
Nina Gantz (UK)

Jury Distinction
Brume, cailloux et métaphysique
Lisa Matuszak (France)

SPECIAL PRIZES

Festivals Connexion Award—Région Rhône-Alpes with Lumières Numériques
In Deep Waters (Dans les eaux profondes)
Sarah Van Den Boom (France, Canada)

Jury Junior Award for a Graduation Film
Roadtrip
Xaver Xylohpon (Germany)

Jury Junior Award for a Short Film
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)

FIPRESCI Award
Teeth
Daniel Gray, Tom Brown (USA, Hungary, UK)

Fipresci Award – Special Distinction
Guida
Rosana Urbes (Brazil)

André Martin Award for a French Feature Film
An Animated Conversation With Noam Chomsky
Michel Gondry (France)

André Martin Award for a French Short Film
Rhizome
Boris Labbe (France)

André Martin Award – Distinction for a French Short Film
Yùl and the Snake
Gabriel Harel (France)

Gan Foundation Support for Distribution for a Work in Progress
My Life as a Zucchini
Claude Barras (France, Switzerland)

Best Original Music Award for a Short Film
Dissonance
Till Nowak (Germany)
Music: Olaf Taranczewski, Frank Zerban

CANAL+ Creative Aid Award for a Short Film
Edmond
Nina Gantz (UK)