The WIP: At the Heart of the Future Compelling International Animation Works

Annecy 2021 announces its first WIP, among them are 9 of the world’s most inspiring feature films currently in creation.

VR

For 60 years, the Annecy Festival has been supporting animation talents throughout their careers and is committed to promoting their works at every stage of their creation. The Work in Progress (WIP) are sources of inspirations and have enabled thousands of enthusiasts over the years to discover the processes and challenges that reside in the creation of unique animation works, guided by their writers, directors, chief animators, producers, etc.

My Life As a Courgette, The Red Turtle, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Ernest & Celestine, The Boy and the Beast, Lastman, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Mum Is Pouring Rain, etc. Since their creation in 2007, nearly 150 works have been presented at the Annecy WIP sessions that attract an increasing number of participants every year.

There will be 16 in this 2021 hybrid edition. The Work in Progress Feature and XR from the Selection will be accessible both on-site and online and the WIP Short and Series will be present exclusively online on the Festival’s platform.

WIP Feature 2021: 9 feature films among the most inspiring currently being created in the world

The 2021 Selection, almost exclusively European except for Perlimps, the latest project from the Brazilian Alê Abreu (Cristal for a Feature Film and Audience Award 2014 for The Boy and the World), shows the dynamism and diversity of production on the “old continent”. A selection that also illustrates the surge in the quality and influence of animation for teens and adults.

Siren      The Siren by Sepideh Farsi

Production: Les Films d’ici, Katuh Studio, BAC Cinéma

Audiences: teens, young adults, adults

Technique: 2D/3D

Distribution: BAC Films

France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium

Mars Express Mars Express by Jérémie Périn

Production: Everybody on Deck, EV.L prod, Plume Finance, France 3 Cinéma

Audiences: teens, young adults, adults

Technique: 2D/3D

Distribution: MK2, Gebeka Films

France

Unicorn Wars Unicorn Wars by Alberto Vázquez Rico

Production: Abano Producións, Uniko, Autour de Minuit, Schmuby

Audiences: teens, young adults, adults

Technique: 2D/3D

Distribution: Charades

Spain, France

Le Petit Nicolas     Little Nicholas by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre

Production: ON Kids & Family, Bidibul Productions

Audience: family

Technique: 2D

Distribution: Charades, BAC Films

France, Luxembourg

Princess Dragon    Princess Dragon by Anthony Roux and Jean-Jacques Denis

Production: Ankama

Audiences: children, family

Technique: 2D/3D

Distribution: Gebeka Films

France

Nayola   Nayola by José Miguel Ribeiro

Production: Praça Filmes, S.O.I.L., JPL Films, il Luster

Audiences: young adults, adults

Technique: 2D/3D

Distribution: Urban Distribution

Portugal, Belgium, France, Netherlands

Perlimps Perlimps by Alê Abreu

Production: Buriti Filmes

Audiences: children, family

Techniques: drawing on paper, 2D/3D

Distribution: pending

Brazil

The Peasants The Peasants by Dorota Kobiela

Production: Chlopi Sp. z o.o, Breakthru Films, Digitalkraft d.o.o., Art Shot

Audiences: teens, young adults, adults

Techniques: rotoscoping, painting on canvas

Distribution: New Europe Film Sales, The Jokers

Poland, Serbia, Lithuania

Saules aveugles    Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Pierre Földes

Production: Cinéma Defacto, Miyu Productions

Audiences: teens, young adults, adults

Techniques: rotoscoping, 2D/3D

Distribution: Gebeka Films, The Match Factory

France, Canada, Netherlands, Luxembourg

WIP Short 2021

Robin Robin   Robin Robin by Dan Ojari, Mikey Please

Production: Aardman Animation

Audiences: preschool, children, family

Technique: stop motion

Distribution: Netflix

UK, USA

WIP Series 2021

Platforms are increasingly investing in animation series. This year, at Annecy, discover four projects with initiatory quest, fantasy and humour.

Fena       Fena: Pirate Princess by Kazuto Nakazawa

Production: Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Production I.G

Audiences: young adults, adults

Technique: drawing on paper

Distribution: Adult Swim & Crunchyroll

USA, Japan

Maya      Maya and the Three by Jorge Gutiérrez

Production: Netflix

Audience: family

Technique: 3D

Distribution: Netflix

USA

The House     The House by Emma de Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr and Paloma Baeza

Production: Nexus Studios, Netflix

Audience: adults

Techniques: puppets, animation objects

Distribution: Netflix

United Kingdom, USA

Samurai Rabbit     Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles by Khang Le

Production: Gaumont, Atomic Monster, Dark Horse Entertainment

Audience: children

Technique: 2D/3D

Distribution: Netflix

USA, France

WIP XR 2021: discovering new territories

Between disappearing into an augmented reality brought on by a well-known duo from Annecy, Eric Serre and Anne-Lise Koehler (Hello World!), and an experience bordering on a video game by pushing the limits of real-time and immersion even further. The WIP XR 2021, introduced in 2019 with the creation of XR@Annecy, continues the exploration of the diverse forms of immersive reality through ambitious projects.

Immersion     Immersion, Augmented Nature by Anne-Lise Koelher and Eric Serre

Production: Les Fées Spéciales

Audiences: children, teenagers, young adults, adults, family

Techniques: 3D, augmented reality, real-time storytelling

France

Ascenders     Ascenders by Jonathan Astruc

Production: BackLight

Audiences: young adults, adults

Techniques: 3D, virtual reality

France

Source：Annecy