Despite being in the middle of shooting his next film, The Phoenician Scheme, eight-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch) has been announced as a special guest of the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 9-15). The director won the feature film Cristal and Audience Awards in 2010 for his stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox and the festival’s Commissioned Film Jury Award for the “Aline” music video from The French Dispatch in 2022.
“Over the last decade, Wes Anderson has had an incredible influence on the revival of stop-motion animation,” said the festival’s Artistic Director, Marcel Jean. “His intricate, theatrical style and his sophisticated, holistic approach to directing have set an example and inspired a score of young filmmakers. His visit to Annecy will mark a long love story and admiration for his work. For us, this is an immense gift to offer our festivalgoers!”
Here’s what Annecy is planning to celebrate Anderson’s work:
Fantastic Mr. Fox & Isle of Dogs Return to the Big Screen
A virtuoso director with a unique sense of humor, Wes Anderson brings a highly personal visual style and universe to each of his films, which are instantly recognizable by their lavish sets and vibrant colors.
In 2010, Wes Anderson branched out into animation and directed Fantastic Mr. Fox, a stop-motion feature film adapted from Roald Dahl’s book of the same name. Annecy rewarded his talent with the Cristal for a Feature Film. Eight years later, he directed Isle of Dogs, a tribute to Japanese culture and film.
Both these feature films will be screened at Annecy in June.
Exclusive Masterclass
Aside the pleasure of being able to discover or rediscover his films, some festivalgoers will have the privilege of attending an exclusive Masterclass!
Wes Anderson is a source of inspiration for many young filmmakers. He will discuss his approach to animation film, especially stop-motion animation and his directorial vision.
More information will be available soon.
