Annecy 2021 today announces its Work in Progress (WIP) projects, including nine of the world’s most inspiring feature films heading to screens in the near future. The hybrid festival will be held June 14-19.
For 60 years, the Annecy Festival has been supporting animation talents throughout their careers and is committed to promoting their work at every stage of their creation. The WIP presentations are sources of inspiration and have enabled thousands of enthusiasts over the years to discover the processes and challenges that reside in the creation of unique animation works, guided by their writers, directors, chief animators, producers, etc.
My Life As a Courgette, The Red Turtle, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Ernest & Celestine, The Boy and the Beast, Lastman, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal and Mum Is Pouring Rain have all been featured in past editions of this compelling program. Since its inception in 2007, nearly 150 works have been presented at the Annecy WIP sessions, attracting an increasing number of participants every year.
There will be 16 titles spotlighted in this year’s hybrid edition. The feature films and XR projects from the WIP Selection will be accessible both on-site and online, and the WIP Short and Series will be present exclusively online on the Festival’s platform.
The 2021 WIP Feature selection — almost exclusively European except for Perlimps, the latest project from Brazilian filmmaker Alê Abreu (winner of the Cristal for Feature Film and Audience Award 2014 for The Boy and the World) — shows the dynamism and diversity of production on the “old continent.” The lineup also illustrates the surge in the quality and influence of animation for teens and adults.
The Siren by Sepideh Farsi
Production: Les Films d’ici, Katuh Studio, BAC Cinéma
Audiences: teens, young adults, adults
Technique: 2D/3D
Distribution: BAC Films
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium
Mars Express by Jérémie Périn
Production: Everybody on Deck, EV.L prod, Plume Finance, France 3 Cinéma
Audiences: teens, young adults, adults
Technique: 2D/3D
Distribution: MK2, Gebeka Films
France
Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vázquez Rico
Production: Abano Producións, Uniko, Autour de Minuit, Schmuby
Audiences: teens, young adults, adults
Technique: 2D/3D
Distribution: Charades
Spain, France
Little Nicholas by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre
Production: ON Kids & Family, Bidibul Productions
Audience: family
Technique: 2D
Distribution: Charades (international sales), Bac Films (sales in France)
France, Luxembourg
Princess Dragon by Anthony Roux and Jean-Jacques Denis
Production: Ankama
Audiences: children, family
Technique: 2D/3D
Distribution: Gebeka Films
France
Nayola by José Miguel Ribeiro
Production: Praça Filmes, S.O.I.L., JPL Films, il Luster
Audiences: young adults, adults
Technique: 2D/3D
Distribution: Urban Distribution
Portugal, Belgium, France, Netherlands
Perlimps by Alê Abreu
Production: Buriti Filmes
Audiences: children, family
Techniques: drawing on paper, 2D/3D
Distribution: pending
Brazil
The Peasants by Dorota Kobiela
Production: Chlopi Sp. z o.o., Breakthru Films, Digitalkraft d.o.o., Art Shot
Audiences: teens, young adults, adults
Techniques: rotoscoping, painting on canvas
Distribution: New Europe Film Sales (international sales), The Jokers (sales in France)
Poland, Serbia, Lithuania
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Pierre Földes
Production: Cinéma Defacto, Miyu Productions
Audiences: teens, young adults, adults
Techniques: rotoscoping, 2D/3D
Distribution: Gebeka Films, The Match Factory
France, Canada, Netherlands, Luxembourg
WIP Short 2021:
Robin Robin by Dan Ojari, Mikey Please
Production: Aardman Animations
Audiences: preschool, children, family
Technique: stop motion
Distribution: Netflix
U.K., U.S.A.
Platforms are increasingly investing in animation series. This year, at Annecy, discover four projects with initiatory quest, fantasy and humor in WIP Series 2021:
Fena: Pirate Princess by Kazuto Nakazawa
Production: Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Production I.G
Audiences: young adults, adults
Technique: drawing on paper
Distribution: coming soon to Adult Swim & Crunchyroll
U.S.A., Japan
Maya and the Three by Jorge Gutiérrez
Production: Netflix
Audience: family
Technique: 3D
Distribution: Netflix
U.S.A.
The House by Emma de Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr and Paloma Baeza
Production: Nexus Studios, Netflix
Audience: adults
Techniques: puppets, animation objects
Distribution: Netflix
U.K., U.S.A.
Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles by Khang Le
Production: Gaumont, Atomic Monster, Dark Horse Entertainment
Audience: children
Technique: 2D/3D
Distribution: Netflix
U.S.A., France
Between disappearing into an augmented reality brought on by a well-known duo from Annecy, Eric Serre and Anne-Lise Koehler (Hello World!), and an experience bordering on a video game by pushing the limits of real-time and immersion even further, the WIP XR 2021 continues the exploration of the diverse forms of immersive reality through ambitious projects introduced in 2019 with the creation of XR@Annecy.
Immersion, Augmented Nature by Anne-Lise Koelher and Eric Serre
Production: Les Fées Spéciales
Audiences: children, teenagers, young adults, adults, family
Techniques: 3D, augmented reality, real-time storytelling
France
Ascenders by Jonathan Astruc
Production: BackLight
Audiences: young adults, adults
Techniques: 3D, virtual reality
France
Find detailed information on each WIP here.
