Top Story: ‘The Wild Robot’ And ‘Arcane’ Lead 52nd Annie Award Nominations

Annecy, the longest-running and largest animation fesival, has announced the feature film selections for their upcoming festival in June. Nine films were chosen to compete for the Cristal award for feature film, which will be decided by a jury consisting of producer Didier Brunner (Les Armateurs), Cartoon Network exec Brian Miller and director Robert Morgan (The Cat with Hands, The Man in the Lower-Left Hand Corner of the Photograph). An additional fourteen features will screen out of competition.

Marcel Jean, the festival’s artistic director, said of this year’s feature selections:

“Many films have been created in a totally independent way, using traditional means, which illustrates the change in production habits that is opening the way for smaller companies and happening at the same moment as the production of digital 3D features is becoming more accessible. Japanese production has also particularly stood out through the number and quality of science fiction, horror or genre films.”

Feature Films—In Competition
  • Arjun, The Warrior Prince
    Directed by Arnab Chaudhuri (India)
  • Berserk Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey
    Directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka (Japan)
  • Jasmine
    Directed by Alain Ughetto (France)
  • Khumba
    Directed by Anthony Silverston (South Africa)
  • Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
    Directed by Daniel St. Pierre and Will Finn (U.S.)
  • My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill
    Directed by Marc Boréal and Thibaut Chatel (France)
  • O Apóstolo
    Directed by Fernando Cortizo (Spain)
  • Pinocchio
    Directed by Enzo D’Alo (Italy, Luxembourg, France, Belgium)
  • Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury
    Directed by Luiz Bolognesi (Brazil)
Feature Films—Out of Competition
  • After School Midnighters
    Directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo (Japan)
  • Aya de Yopougon
    Directed by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie (France)
  • Blood-C: The Last Dark
    Directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani (Japan)
  • Buratino’s Return
    Directed by Ekaterina Mikhailova (Russia)
  • Consuming Spirits
    Directed by Christopher Sullivan (U.S.)
  • El Santos vs la Tetona Mendoza
    Directed by Alejandro Lozano (Mexico)
  • Gusuko-Budori no Denki
    Directed by Gisaburo Sugii (Japan)
  • It’s Such a Beautiful Day
    Directed by Don Hertzfeldt (U.S.)
  • One Piece Film Z
    Directed by Tatsuya Nagamine (Japan)
  • Persistence of Vision
    Directed by Kevin Schreck (U.S.)
  • Sakasama no Patema
    Directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Japan)
  • The Legend of Sarila
    Directed by Nancy Savard (Canada)
  • The Snow Queen
    Directed by Maxim Sveshnikov and Vladlen Barbe (Russia)
  • Tito on Ice
    Directed by Max Andersson and Helena Ahonen (Sweden)