Blog: Annecy Animation Festival June 2024
- mikezef1
- Jun 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Note: These blogs are frequently updated, rewritten, with new links and photos added.
I went to the Annecy Animation Festival 2024 in France.
The festival website is here:
There's a good summary of the Festival here by "Animation Obsessive": https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-center-of-the-animation-world
Update 8/8/2024: The Animation Festival in Annecy was a varied experience. It was very big, lots of people and long queues, sometimes with groups pushing in, not always able to get in to the cinemas to see the films one wanted to see. I was three people away from getting into the Terry Gilliam Masterclass.
The MIFA (International Animation Film Market) for interaction with industry professionals felt elitist, despite having a ticket, it had limited access and vigorous bag searches.
I purchased a cheap one week bus pass from the festival organisers and stayed a 30 minute bus ride away in a charming, quiet village called Duingt, located right by the lakeside. Duingt was very scenic with lots of nice walks up into the surrounding mountains, providing some consolation from the frustrations of the festival.
Update 26/11/2024: I just discovered Paul Cézanne visited Annecy and Duingt in 1896 and painted a view of the lake.
Le Lac d'Annecy by Cezanne
Click on the highlighted text for more information on the painting and on Cezanne.
I saw many sides to the industry, from children's entertainment to abstract animated art. I caught a glimpse of how vast the industry is and how varied the fanbases for animation are. I was able to meet a few interesting people and have informative conversations. "Streamlining" was a term mentioned several times, with animators adapting to an economic downturn including less demand for animated films from Netflix and Amazon:
Others took a more optimistic view, see this extract from Screen International:
"Animation, in all its forms, is the future of entertainment,” according to Marge Dean, president of Women In Animation (WIA), at the organisation’s eight annual summit in Annecy...
“Around the world there are new animation industries developing because of the potential to create jobs, tell stories, and celebrate cultures. The challenge is going to be to build these industries without too much dependence on Hollywood – the concept, not the location.”
In her opening day address on June 10, Dean said she “did not believe” substantial layoffs signified “the end of the animation industry. “
See: “Animation is the future of entertainment,” says Women In Animation summit at Annecy - Screen International ; London (Jun 13, 2024).
Currently, the full article is also available here
I heard some individuals talk of "wearing more hats" and taking on more roles themselves in the production of animations. Others were unashamedly using AI and games software (Unreal engine) to speed up production. Many people I spoke to admired the art style of the Netflix show "Arcane" (based on the Game League of Legends) and I couldn't help noticing it's visual similarity to the game Dishonoured, as others have discussed here.
International cooperation on animation was popular, notably between France and China.
There was political tension evident at this time in France, with posters and graffiti spread across the town of Annecy. I noticed a considerable amount of homeless people around town too, particularly near the railway station and Square Bernard Bosson. The far right were gaining ground... but thankfully did not get into power.
"Smile" image by the brilliant Annecy street artist: @tarantonio_
Update: 16 Aug 2025: Street Art around Annecy impressed me. Here are two short animations I did bringing some of it to life:
Here's a brief compilation of abstract images and textures from the Annecy streets that caught my eye between viewing films, with some of my own music too.
A bit of a contrast from the usual shots of the beautiful canals and medieval buildings:
Adieu Annecy until the next time:
Update 5 Oct 2025: More cynicism and calls for change in animation industry practices and education, it seems adaptability, resourcefulness and independence are key skills moving forward... see the following article:
Comments, acknowledgement and feedback would be greatly appreciated...
Comments