May 20, 2021

Annecy announced 19 animation features in the competition

As it confirms that it is forging ahead with a hybrid event, Annecy Festival has unveiled the features in competition for its 2021 edition.

The festival has chosen 19 features: ten in the main competition, nine in the Contrechamp category (which is reserved for more indie and offbeat fare). At least one of these films was supposed to play at last year's festival, which was held entirely online, but saw its production delayed by the pandemic.

Japan once again has a strong presence, with three films in the running, including the latest from major studios Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell) and Studio 4°C (Children of the Sea). Canada is the only other country with three features, among them Felix Dufour-Laperrière's experimental work Archipelago.

Asia is the best-represented continent, with eight films in all: South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan each have one, China two (one of which is a co-production with Germany). North America has four - a big rise from last year's zero.

Not well represented in this line-up: women directors. Only two of the nineteen features are directed by women. Annecy organizers point out to us that they believe the situation will change at future editions with more films by women moving into production nowadays. The fact that only 11% of the feature selections are directed by women stands in stark comparison to Annecy's other competitive categories, where women are better represented this year: short films (43% women directors), student (60%), tv (27%), and commissioned films (38%).

Last year, for rights reasons, many of the more high-profile features could not be watched in full on the virtual platform. It remains to be confirmed which of the below will be available to online participants.

Read on for the full selection, alongside comments from Annecy's artistic director Marcel Jean. Titles we have previously covered are hyperlinked.

Pictured at top: “Climbing,” “My Sunny Maad,” “Snotty Boy”