After a wholly online edition in 2020 and the hybrid event which unfolded last year, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival (headed up by Mickaël Marin) is returning to its usual scale - as befits the genre’s biggest global event - for its 41^st edition which is set to unspool between 13 and 18 June. Following the revelation of the Mifa Pitches projects last week (read our news), it was the turn of the official selection of feature films (put together by Artistic Director Marcel Jean) to be unveiled last night, a line-up notably consisting of 20 titles (out of one hundred submissions) shared across two competitions.

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Eight European (co-)productions shine bright among the ten works wrestling it out for the 2022 Crystal in the Official Selection, namely Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pierre Földes
scheda film] by Pierre Földes (an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s novel), No Dogs or Italians Allowed [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alain Ughetto
scheda film] by French director Alain Ughetto, Nayola [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Portugal’s José Miguel Ribeiro (hereby signing his name to his country’s first animated feature, made in association with Belgium, the Netherlands and France) and My Love Affair with Marriage [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Signe Baumane
scheda film] by Latvia’s Signe Baumane.

Jostling alongside them, we find Charlotte [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by French filmmaker Éric Warin and Canadian talent Tahir Rana, Unicorn Wars [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Spain’s Alberto Vazquez, the French-Luxembourg co-production Little Nicholas [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Amandine Fredon e Benjamin…
scheda film] by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre (set to enjoy its world premiere in a Special Screening in Cannes) and The Island [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Romania’s Anca Damian (well-received in Rotterdam’s Big Screen competition). These movies will be pitted against various Japanese productions.

Five European (co-)productions steal focus among the ten features selected for the Contrechamp competition: My Grandfather's Demons [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Portuguese helmer Nuno Beato, Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Italy’s Alessandro Rak (screened in Locarno’s Piazza Grande last year) Aurora's Sunrise [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Inna Sahakyan
scheda film] by Armenia’s Inna Sahakyan, the French-Japanese production Dozens of Norths [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Koji Yamamura, and Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by China’s Lei Lei (produced by the USA and the Netherlands). It’s a line-up reflecting the highly globalised nature of animation of late, showcasing productions hailing from Mexico, Algeria, Colombia, the USA and South Korea.

Also well worth a mention are a multitude of feature film Special Screenings, namely for Le Pharaon, le Sauvage et la Princesse [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Michel Ocelot (who’s set to receive this year’s Honorary Crystal, alongside American actress Jennifer Lee), the French-Belgian production My Father's Secrets [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Véra Belmont and blockbuster movie Minions: The Rise of Gru, which is scheduled to open the festival. And that’s without forgetting the first images which are due to be shown from the much-anticipated movies Ernest and Célestine: A Trip to Gibberitia [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Jean-Christophe Roger and Julien Chheng, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One).

The selected feature films are as follows:

Charlotte [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Éric Warin and Tahir Rana (Belgium/Canada/France)
Goodbye, DonGlees! - Atsuko Ishizuka (Japan)
No Dogs or Italian Allowed [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alain Ughetto
scheda film] - Alain Ughetto (France/Italy)
Little Nicholas [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Amandine Fredon e Benjamin…
scheda film] - Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre (France/Luxembourg)
The House of the Lost on the Cape - Shinya Kawatsura (Japan)
My Love Affair with Marriage [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Signe Baumane
scheda film] - Signe Baumane (USA/Latvia/Luxembourg)
Nayola [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - José Miguel Ribeiro (Portugal/Belgium/the Netherlands/France)
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pierre Földes
scheda film] - Pierre Foldes (Canada/France/Luxembourg)
The Island [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Anca Damian (Roumanie/France/Belgium)
Unicorn Wars [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Alberto Vazquez (Spain/France)

Contrechamp

Aurora's Sunrise [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Inna Sahakyan
scheda film] - Inna Sahakyan (Germany/Armenia/Lithuania)
Home Is Somewhere Else - Carlos Hagerman et Jorge Villalobos (USA/Mexico)
Khamsa – The Well of Oblivion - Khaled Chiheb (Algeria)
The Other Shape (La otra forma) - Diego Guzman (Colombia)
My Grandfather's Demons [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Nuno Beato (Spain/France/Portugal)
Dozens of Norths [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Koji Yamamura (France/Japan)
Quantum Cowboys - Geoff Marslett (USA)
Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Lei Lei (USA/the Netherlands)
Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On - Jun-pyo Hong (South Korea)
Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Alessandro Rak (Italy)

Out of Competition Special Screenings

Minions: The Rise of Gru – Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan Del Val (USA) (opening film)
Le Pharaon, le Sauvage et la Princesse [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Michel Ocelot (France)
Lightyear – Angus McLane (USA)
No.7 Cherry Lane - Yonfan (Hong Kong)
The Sea Beast – Chris William (USA)
My Father's Secrets [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – Véra Belmont (France/Belgium)