This year’s edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival will take place between the 13 and 18 of June. The Official Competition comprises 10 feature-length animated films, including The Island, a Romania-France-Belgium co-production directed by Anca Damian.

Anca Damian won the 2012 Feature Film Cristal for Crulic – The Path to Beyond, and in 2019, Marona’s Fantastic Tale won the award for Best French Feature Film.

The Island, based on the play of the same name by surrealist poet Gellu Naum, follows a Robinson Crusoe who lives in solitude by choice, on an island invaded by migrants, NGOs and guards. The film had the world premiere at Rotterdam. „What Damian does here is to flip the colonial paradigm of Defoe’s original onto its head, of the westerner isolated amongst <<savages>> far away from the Old Continent, which is doubtlessly a courageous choice. Robinson gets shipwrecked within the margins of his own civilisation, apparently voluntarily inhabiting its margins.” writes Flavia Dima in her review.

The other titles showcased in the Official Competition are Charlotte (dir. Eric Warin, Tahir Rana), Goodbye, DonGlees! (dir. Atsuko Ishizuka), Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens / No Dogs or Italians Allowed (dir. Alain Ughetto), The House of the Lost on the Cape (dir. Shinya Kawatsura), My Love Affair with Marriage (dir. Signe Baumane), Nayola (dir. José Miguel Ribeiro), Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be (dir. Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre), Blind Willows, Sleeping Woman (dir. Pierre Foldes), Unicorn Wars (dir. Alberto Vazquez).

Among the short films selected in the main competition is also a Romania-Hungary co-production, Amok (dir. Balázs Turai).

The festival program includes some of the most anticipated premieres of the year:

Minions: The Rise of Gru (dir. Kyle Balda) – A new chapter in the Despicable Me franchise opens this year’s Annecy Festival, screening in world premiere;

The Sea Beast (dir. Chris Williams) – A young girl stows away on the ship of a sea monster hunter, and the two embark on an epic journey;

The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (dir. Michel Ocelot) – Three tales, three eras, three universes, a world of dreams, mythological beings and passion. The director will receive an Honorary Cristal as acknowledgment for his distinguished career;

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (dir. Tze Chun, Brendan Hay, Joe Dante) – The film tells the story of Sam Wing meeting Gizmo through an epic sprinkled with monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore;

Lightyear (dir. Angus MacLane) – He was a beloved character on Toy Story, now it’s time to find out who he really is. Disney and Pixar bring an episode of Buzz Lightyear’s life to the big screen;

Perlimps (dir. Alê Abreu) ​​– Are you a nature lover? Do you like magic? Then look no further, this movie is for you.

Furthermore, the audience will have the great opportunity to discover the very first images of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, as well as of Strange World (dir. Don Hall), the latest gem from Disney.

Also within the Screening Events program, Guillermo del Toro himself will present exclusive footage from his long-awaited Pinocchio, a stop-motion reimagining of the classic Italian tale.

Director, screenwriter and producer Chris Nee will hold a masterclass on The Power of Inclusive Storytelling.

For more details and the latest news, check out the festival website.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.