Stop-Motion Short *Into the Forest* Claims Young Audience Award at Annecy Festival, Elevating Swiss Animation on Global Stage

Antonin Niclass’ Stop-Motion Gem *Into the Forest* Wins Annecy Young Audience Award, Celebrating Creativity and Swiss Handcrafted Animation

LONDON, June 27, 2026 – The 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, widely hailed as the “Oscar of Animation”, has handed its coveted Young Audience Award to Swiss stop-motion short film *Into the Forest*, helmed by award-winning filmmaker Antonin Niclass. Produced by Milos-Films and shot at Lausanne’s Hélium Films studios, the work marks another landmark victory for Switzerland’s handcrafted stop-motion animation industry, showcasing the country’s mature independent animation production system to worldwide audiences.

1. Full Introduction to the Award-Winning Short *Into the Forest*

*Into the Forest* is a layered, dialogue-free stop-motion short tailor-made for young viewers, centering on three handmade monkey puppets trapped inside a cold, sterile animation studio. After one monkey breaks free from its animation rig, the trio draws inspiration from jungle footage on a screen, pooling their creativity and resourcefulness to transform the lifeless studio space into a lush, vibrant homemade jungle.

 Core production highlights:

1. **Cross-studio puppet collaboration**: The short features Oshi, the baby orangutan puppet originating from Swiss animation master Claude Barras’ 2024 hit stop-motion feature *Savages*, via a joint partnership with Nadasdy Film. This crossover links two generations of Swiss stop-motion creators and highlights the country’s tight-knit animation talent ecosystem.
2. **Distinctive technical aesthetics**: The film preserves animation rigs in post-production, a rare creative choice that visually lays bare the craft of stop-motion. It blends painstaking hand puppet manipulation, vivid expressive sound design, and a dynamically evolving electronic score. The soundtrack shifts from rigid industrial mechanical beats echoing the cold studio environment to warm natural ambient melodies as the monkeys build their jungle, perfectly mirroring the characters’ emotional journey.
3. **Core thematic value**: Beyond its whimsical surface, the short delivers multi-dimensional themes: the emancipating power of artistic creation, the magic of collective teamwork, and ingenuity born from limited resources. It frames imagination as a tool for self-liberation and building a sense of belonging.
4. Director Antonin Niclass’ Creative Insights

A graduate of the UK’s National Film and Television School, Antonin Niclass is a familiar fixture at Annecy, with prior festival selections for his works *Do Not Feed the Pigeons* (2021) and *Coup de Théâtre* (2022). In an exclusive interview with *Variety*, the Swiss director shared his core creative philosophy behind *Into the Forest*.

 On the opening rig-breaking sequence

The opening shot of the monkey puppet breaking its animation rig serves as the film’s symbolic core. Niclass explained the sequence was designed to introduce children to the fundamentals of stop-motion art: once the puppet escapes mechanical restraints, it evolves from an inanimate prop into an autonomous character. Metaphorically, creation itself is an act of freedom, as filmmakers surrender full control to the stories and figures they craft. Animator Timothée Crabbé spent extensive time refining the hybrid blend of live-action human hands and stop-motion puppet movement, with the bold decision to retain rigs on-screen to honor the handmade craft.

On the electronic original score

With zero spoken dialogue, sound and music carry the entire narrative. Teaming up with sound designer Loic Kreyden and composer Fabio Amurri, Niclass rejected traditional jungle percussion scores. Instead, they adopted a synthesizer-driven electronic soundtrack that tracks the monkeys’ emotional transformation—cold industrial tones for the empty studio, warm melodic layers as their handmade jungle takes shape. The choice grounds the fantasy firmly within the Lausanne animation studio setting rather than a tropical rainforest.

 On the film’s central message

Niclass emphasized the dual educational and emotional mission of the short. Rather than a straightforward behind-the-scenes documentary about animation production, the film wraps its artistic lessons in a heartfelt fable. The three monkeys possess no abundant supplies, yet they leverage imagination and collaboration to build a home that is uniquely theirs. The director hopes young audiences absorb two key takeaways: resourcefulness amid limitation, and the pure joy of collective artistic creation.

On premiering and winning at Annecy

As a Swiss creator based minutes from Annecy, Niclass described the festival as a “spiritual home”. After debuting his graduation film and commissioned short here in previous years, crafting a youth-focused competition entry represented an exciting creative challenge. To premiere and win the Young Audience Award at Annecy allows him to share Swiss stop-motion craftsmanship with global industry peers and child audiences alike, an unparalleled honor.

3. The Industry Impact of This Award on Swiss Animation

The triumph of *Into the Forest* carries far-reaching strategic significance for Switzerland’s animation sector, which has long built its reputation on premium stop-motion independent works.

1. **Reaffirm Switzerland’s leading position in European stop-motion craft**

Swiss animation earned global acclaim via Claude Barras’ Oscar-nominated *My Life as a Zucchini*, a landmark stop-motion feature. *Into the Forest* extends this legacy, proving Switzerland maintains a sustainable pipeline of young, innovative stop-motion talent led by Antonin Niclass. The award reinforces the nation’s identity as a global hub for high-quality, handcrafted puppet animation, distinguishing it from mainstream CGI animation markets.

2. **Boost cross-studio collaborative animation ecosystem**

The cross-company puppet collaboration between Milos-Films, Hélium Films and Nadasdy Film showcased Switzerland’s interconnected independent animation studio network. The international spotlight on this co-production model will attract more European co-production opportunities, stimulate resource sharing between domestic studios, and lower barriers for emerging Swiss animators to launch cross-team projects.

3. **Drive youth-oriented animation development and industry funding**

The Young Audience Award is a high-value recognition of family-friendly animation. The success of *Into the Forest* will encourage Swiss film funds and cultural authorities to allocate more financial support to youth-targeted stop-motion short films, balancing the industry’s prior focus on adult experimental animation. It opens new market avenues for Swiss children’s animation to distribute across global children’s media platforms.

4. **Strengthen cultural export and international talent exchange**

Annecy’s global media coverage positions Swiss animation artistry before worldwide distributors, festival programmers and animation schools. Niclass’ international education background (NFTS UK) and the film’s cross-border creative team set a benchmark for Swiss animators to engage in global exchange, attracting overseas animation students and joint creative projects to Lausanne’s established animation studio cluster.

5. **Pass down stop-motion craftsmanship to the next generation**

By embedding the mechanics and beauty of stop-motion directly into its narrative, *Into the Forest* acts as a promotional piece for traditional handcrafted animation. The award draws young creators’ attention to Switzerland’s mature stop-motion training and studio infrastructure, safeguarding the inheritance of analogue puppet animation techniques amid the digital animation boom.