2019 Annecy Festival Calls for Entries & Announces Key Changes

After welcoming a whopping 11,700 participants in 2018, the next edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market has opened submissions for the official film competition selection and the MIFA Pitches. Organizers have also revealed some key competition and program changes, and a new element in their drive for gender parity. The 2019 event will take place June 10-15, and will spotlight Japan as the country of honor.

“Since 2014, the festival and the MIFA have experienced remarkable growth, from 7,000 to 11,700 badgeholders. The increase was up 17% from 2017 to 2018,” artistic director Marcel Jean told Animation Magazine. “Such a performance can be explained both by the development of the industry and by the dynamism of our actions, on the festival and on the market side. Every year we introduce new initiatives, and our ability to adapt to changes in the world of animation is one of the keys to our success.”

Submissions close February 15, 2019 for the following categories: Short Films, Television Films, Commissioned Films, Graduation Films. Submissions close March 15, 2019 for the Feature Films category. Submissions close 15th April 2019 for the VR Films category. Enter here.

For the MIFA Pitches, submissions close February 4, 2019 for all categories: Short Films, Feature Films, TV Series and Specials, Interactives & Transmedia Creations, and Animation du Monde (this category is open to all formats, but reserved to territories with an emerging animation industry – see the list of eligible countries in the regulations). Enter here.

Due to the considerable growth of feature film production globally, Annecy 2019 will introduce a new section to the official competition: Contrechamp. This will comprise a dozen feature films, with the aim of offering a better showcase for the most unique and challenging movies. Contrechamp will replace the feature film out of competition category.

An important component of the festival since 2016, virtual reality will be instated as a competitive category next year. This decision is due to an increasing demand from professionals and will accommodate more works and reveal the latest and most innovative projects possible. CITIA is bolstering this move by developing a transversal, ambitious and complementary program dedicated to immersive creation for the MIFA market.

The next edition will also be an important next step toward better representation for women in animation. In June 2018, Patrick Eveno, then director of CITIA, signed the Charter 5050×2020 for Parity and Diversity in Film, Audiovisual and Animated Film Festivals. CITIA is continuing his commitment to encourage a fair place for women within the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and more generally in the animation film sector, and reinforcing its commitment to achieving gender parity at the centre of the organization.

With this view in mind, and under the leadership of Mickaël Marin, the new director, there will be an increased feminine presence on the selection committees for Feature Films, TV and Commissioned Films, Graduation Films and VR categories. Since 2017 Peggy Zejgman-Lecarme, director of the Cinémathèque de Grenoble, has been involved in the Short Films category. The Annecy 2019 selection team, which will work alongside artistic director Marcel Jean, will be unveiled soon.