The next Annecy International Animation Film Festival will take place from June 8-14, 2025, and will pay tribute to Hungarian animation. The event will also offer an immersive dive into the boundless creativity of music video and celebrate a milestone anniversary for the MIFA market.
Each year, the Annecy Festival offers professionals and the general public the chance to discover the best of animated cinema, showcasing a variety of works from around the world. The 2024 edition was a record-breaking one, with more than 103 countries represented and 17,400 accreditations, including 6,500 professionals at MIFA.
Each year, the festival spotlights a different country or region. The 2024 edition explored the history and current creative landscape of Portugal’s animation industry. Now, that focus turns to Hungary.
“Many are familiar with the stunning feature films of Marcell Jankovics, Johnny Corncob (1973) and Son of the White Mare (1981). However, these remarkable films only provide a glimpse of the scope and variety of production within the Pannonia Films studio, founded in 1951,” said Marcel Jean, Artistic Delegate of the Annecy Festival.
“Despite political upheavals, the rich history of Hungarian animation has never wavered. In 1981, Ferenc Rofusz won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for The Fly, while in 2005, Géza M. Tóth’s short Maestro was nominated in the same category. Over the past 20 years, numerous student films have heralded the arrival of a true new wave: Milk Teeth by Tibor Banocki (2007), Rabbit and Deer by Péter Vácz (2013) and Symphony No. 42 by Réka Bucsi (2013), to name just a few. Recent successes from filmmakers like Flora Anna Buda (27), Balázs Turai (Amok), Nadja Andrasev (Symbiosis) and Áron Gauder (Four Souls of Coyote) further confirm this blossoming and demonstrate the cultural dynamism and deep originality of the country’s animation production.
“The extensive digitization and restoration efforts undertaken by the Hungarian National Film Institute will allow Annecy 2025 to present the great classics of Hungarian animation in the best possible conditions.”
Jean also commented on the planned special focus on animated music videos: “Emerging in the 1980s, the music video quickly became a space for expression and exploration for many animators. While some filmmakers who ventured into this format already had an enviable reputation (Jan Švankmajer, Michel Ocelot, Sylvain Chomet, John Kricfalusi…), others found in their collaborations with musicians a fertile ground for creating rich and unique works. This is particularly true for creators like Michel Gondry, Raman Djafari, Steve Cutts and Victor Haegelin. Annecy 2025 will be an opportunity to revisit the work of several key creators who have contributed to the recent history of animated cinema.”
Another major celebration will be the 40th anniversary of MIFA (International Animation Film Market). A special event for the animation industry and, more broadly, for cinema, MIFA has over the last several decades become an essential part of the landscape.
Initially defined as a space for knowledge exchange, meetings and support, the market has often been the catalyst for starting a project, a co-production, financing, partnerships, sales and international careers. This milestone anniversary offers an opportunity to look back on the path traveled, and more importantly, envision the years to come.
