From Warner Bros to Portland and Canadian auteurs, Annecy Festival (9-15 June 2024) promises an exciting journey to the animation past.

From restored films, such as the Canadian experimental film 'Smaragdin' by Jean Letarte, to the honorary Cristal to Canadian auteur  Pierre Hébert, to a 'Coraline' special screening (in the presence of Henry Selick),  there are a lot of things to discover.

Docs on Raoul Servais (by Rudy Pinceel) and the pinscreen technique (by Brice Vincent) are not to be missed.

Here's the full Annecy Classics 2024 lineup:

Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert is a documentary directed by Loïc Darses and about the esteemed Canadian animator, known for both his engraving on film and his collaborations with musicians as part of live animation performances for audiences.

On Tuesday 11th June, the Annecy Festival will present an Honorary Cristal to Pierre Hébert, acknowledging its 60-year pioneering nature of his work.

"In 1997, Annecy paid tribute to Pierre Hébert for the first time by devoting a retrospective to him. Since then, Hébert hasn’t stopped creating and reinventing himself, notably through his impressive series 'Lieux et monuments'. This Honorary Cristal highlights the ongoing research and the persistence of a remarkable, rigorous approach - Marcel Jean, Annecy Festival Artistic Director

Why Pinscreen? is an invitation for Director Brice Vincent to reflect on the creative process of constraint, as he examines the renewed interest in pinscreen animation, this tool invented by Alexandre Alexeïeff and Claire Parker almost a century ago. This film’s screening is a collaborative venture between Annecy and the CNC, the acquisition and restoration by the CNC of the 'Épinette', a pinscreen designed by the Alexeïeff-Parker couple between 1976 and 1977, was at the root of the revival to create using this technique. 

History, Mystery, Odyssey: 6 Portland Animators by Martin Cooper tours one of the most influential independent animation melting pots in the USA: Portland, Oregon. Here, we discover the works of Jim Blashfield, Rose Bond, Joan C. Gratz, Zak Margolis, Joanna Priestley and Chel White.

Directed by Rudy Pinceel, Servais paints a portrait of the legendary Belgian animation filmmaker, just when the Mu.ZEE – the art museum on the sea – in Ostend is about to reserve two permanent exhibition rooms dedicated to him.

"100 Years of Shorts" is a 10 short film programme charting the history of animation production at Warner Bros. From Fritz Freleng to Rebecca Sugar, from Tex Avery to Genndy Tartakovsky, from Chuck Jones to Ben Bocquelet, from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to Nick Edwards, craziness, frenzy, imagination and humour take centre stage.

'Coraline' by Henry Selick will screen again at Annecy (15 years after its release and Annecy Cristal for Best Feature). Screening in 3D  Screened in 3D and in the presence of Henry Selick.
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"An Emerald Necklace: Restorations by the Cinémathèque québécoise" features seven Canadian independent animation films restored by the Cinémathèque québécoise. The programme notably includes 'Smaragdin' by Jean Letarte, which was in the official competition at the very first Annecy Festival in 1960.

Smaragdin

Long lost, the film was rediscovered in 2020 by Marco de Blois, in the light of the Annecy Festival’s 60th anniversary.

Also, on the programme: 'Nice Day in the Country' by Chris Hinton, 'Kidnappé' by Thomas Corriveau and 'Old Orchard Beach P.Q.' by Michèle Cournoyer.

"When the Credits Become Animated" offers an overview of the most stunning animated fiction feature film credits. Saul Bass, Richard Williams, Terry Gilliam, Gil Alkabetz, and Gianluigi Toccafondo are some of the artists who have contributed to developing the art of credits

Annecy International Animation Film Festival runs from 9 to 15 June in Annecy, France.