Annecy Unveils Studio Spotlights, Demos, MIFA Partner Conferences

More details of the inspirational, innovating and enlightening programming awaiting attendees of this year’s hybrid Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market (June 14-19) have been announced, including the studio focus section, MIFA Partners plans’ and experimental technological and creative demonstrations. These (and much more) are complemented by the Women in Animation World Summit 2021 on Monday, June 14.

Thirteen virtual Studio Focus installments will punctuate the week with announcements and tributes. Notably among them, Netflix will be present with four sessions whose surprises and exclusives will take pride of place. Starting Monday, Netflix Kids & Family will give a sneak peek at their future family series and feature films, then it’ll be Netflix Adult Animation‘s turn to discuss two projects with an all-star cast. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Netflix Anime and Chris Nee will bring together some of today’s most prominent artists to discuss projects that are still some of the best kept secrets…

Also on Tuesday, DreamWorks Television will dive into the world of their next feature film Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, the final installment of the Tales of Arcadia trilogy. A great opportunity for the artistic team to take another look at this extraordinary universe.

The end of the week will be dedicated to the Disney group with several presentations including live online Q&As: the team from Locksmith Animation will unveil the latest news on their first feature film Ron’s Gone Wrong, and Pixar Animation Studios will take us backstage on Luca and future 2022 films. Last but not least, Disney EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, Africa) will present their new local projects, and in particular an exclusive extract from the TV series Chip ‘n’ Dale.

New studios are also joining in this year:

• The ONF/NFB (The National Film Board of Canada), on top of doing a Q&A session with male and female directors in competition at Annecy, will unveil an exclusive look at their latest creation.
• CBS Studios and Paramount+ will host two panel discussions with the creators of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy as well as Stephen Colbert presents Tooning Out the News and new series The Harper House.
• Tencent will discuss its original family-oriented projects developed with European co-producers.
• Cinesite will give an exclusive sneak peek at five blockbusters created in partnership with eight leading directors: The Addams Family 2, Extinct, Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, Hitpig and Blazing Samurai.
• Toei Company, Ltd. will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Kamen Rider and the next new arrival Fuuto PI, the first animated series of this legendary franchise.

While the full MIFA Conferences program will be announced soon, organizers have news to share about what the market’s partners have in store:

• Unifrance will propose three discussions concerning the international challenges of French animation films: the emergence of a new generation of women directors, broadcasting animation film at African festivals and writing for an international audience.
• The director of the Japan Media Arts Festival invites three directors from leading international festivals to share their visions on animation’s current intensity and its future development, in particular via other forms of art such as video games.
• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes In Motion (AIM) will bring together the Artefacts (video games) and Albyon (animation, VFX and VR) studios to present an overview of the creative and technical opportunities possible between the video game and animation sectors. Session followed by a live Q&A.
• ALICE (Animation League for Increased Cooperation in Europe) will present their interregional cooperation methodology aimed at developing a new, more collaborative, model so that SMEs can expand, recruit and innovate. Session followed by a live Q&A.

Demo Sessions are dedicated to experimental presentations and inspire viewers to do something new with six virtual technological and creative showcases:

• Aquarium by Fatfish Lab, the 100% nodal, cross-production and totally flexible project management tool that adapts to your needs.
• The latest Unity tools bring speed, limitless creativity and iterations to animators and producers. Get a close look at Mich-L, made entirely with the new (beta) Cinematic Tools feature set.
• Xencelabs will provide an insight into their products’ capabilities thanks to their new pen tablet and Quick Keys remote control, a real game-changer for creatives.
• A demonstration by Next Lab of the potential of the VR, AR and MR tools and video game render engines for animation prototyping, production and visual effects.
• Wacom will explore how the South African film Troll Girl was made, drawn and animated with a Blender Grease Pencil.
• Archipel Market and Archipel Content, two complementary solutions developed by Cascade8, the tech branch of the Logical Pictures Group.

www.annecy.org