The call for projects was a great success; 33 projects were received (14 of which were led by women, 15 by men and 4 by man/woman duos) from across the world: France, Croatia, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and even New Zealand!

Among this geographic diversity and its array of genres and styles, the selection committee consisting of Damien Brunner (Producer, Folivari), Laurence Petit (Distributor, Haut et Court), Aurel (Artist, Director) and Jean-Christophe Roger (Director) chose the following: 

• Le Dernier des Cailloux by Caroline Cherrier (France – Tant Mieux Prod)
• Shadow Work by Areito Echevarria and Raqi Syed (New Zealand)
• The Bird Kingdom (O Reino dos Pássaros) by Wesley Rodrigues (Brazil/France – Lupa Filmes, Sacrebleu Productions)

3 PROJECTS FOR 3 VERY DIFFERENT UNIVERSES

Le Dernier des Cailloux by Caroline Cherrier

Firmin Cailloux discovers a huge sea creature, who is lost and trying to communicate with the lighthouse’s foghorn. Firmin clings to this lonely monster, the last of its kind, and all alone he tries to protect her from the village men.

Caroline Cherrier is an artist who loves traditional animation: drawing, painting, and gouache. A collection of techniques she expertly employs in her films to portray her sensitivity. Her dexterity in these mediums and textures bring depth and poetry to her graphic universe. A graduate from GOBELINS, l’école de l’image, Director of the short film Horacio (Ikki Films) selected at Annecy in 2021, she also honed her skills working on the collection En sortant de l'école in 2016.

Shadow Work by Areito Echevarria and Raqi Syed

Shadow Work is a psychological horror, a family saga rooted in the unnerving suburban landscape of Wellington, New Zealand.  

Areito Echevarria is an Academy-Award winning artist and researcher with over 21 years of visual effects experience. His passion is for storytelling by way of a computational design approach. 

Raqi Syed began her animation career as a Lighting Artist for Disney Feature Animation, and then went on to work as a Senior Technical Director with Weta Digital on films like Avatar, The Planet of the Apes, and The Hobbit.  

Areito & Raqi’s VR experience Minimum Mass won the 2020 Annecy Festival Cristal Award for Best VR.

Far from the conventional methods used by the 2 other projects, here it’s all about real-time animation, motion-capture, and artificial intelligence.

The Bird Kingdom (O Reino dos Pássaros) by Wesley Rodrigues

In a fantasy version of the Brazilian Sertão, an arid wasteland where men can shapeshift into birds of prey, Sete-Penas is taken in as a child by Carcará, an outlaw who aspires to be a local legend. 

Wesley Rodrigues is an illustrator, comic book artist, and one of the most acclaimed animators in Brazil. The Bird Kingdom draws us into the remote and contrasting Brazilian outback, using an updated Western style enhanced by the Director’s use of warm colours and unique aesthetics. The 2D animation film will strive to keep an artisanal artistic style in particular on the hand-painted sets.

"The selection committee appreciated the projects’ seriousness, commitment, and rich narratives and noticed that the world’s current affairs, exposed more than ever to shocks and brutality, inspire authors – and particularly artists – to remain committed and unified in the face of adversity. 

To move, challenge, shock, pull together and enlighten, animation has this ability and strength to use aesthetics to soften the rhetoric. 

This is the wager with which the committee declares its selection 'explosive'!

The animation world is allied to cultural mixes... We believe this skilful mix of cultures, genres, nationalities, and generations will bear its fruit... So, see you in Annecy at the Mifa in June 2023 to discover these 3 projects 'for real'!"

The Selection Committee
Laurence Petit, Damien Brunner, Jean-Christophe Roger and Aurel

These projects’ authors will be staying in Annecy from 3^rd April to 30^th June 2023, assisted by the CITIA teams in the stimulating environment of the Papeteries – Image Factory.