Along with the usual really fun programs that we have come to expect like Politically Incorrect with something to offend everyone, Are You Bothered?, a program of raw and edgy shorts and Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, Act Up screened a program of provocative shorts to commemorate the group's 20th anniversary.

Two of my favorite features at Annecy are the daily Shorts and Breakfast chats and Features at Noon. Erudite festival Artistic Director Serge Bromberg, master of the early morning hot seat, interviewed the previous day's short film makers. It is always interesting to listen to animators speak about their work, techniques and sometimes even their motivation for making their film. Their words very seldom change my opinion of a film but it is interesting to hear an animator talk about their work.

Monica Tasciotti's Features at Noon interview series with the previous days' Feature Film directors usually leaves me anxious to see the film again with a new perspective. The highlight of the week for me was Monica's chat with Henry Selick. The two of them talked so comfortably that it was more of a living room conversation than a formal interview. Henry brought three puppets from Coraline and talked extensively about their construction, and why his studio is in Oregon rather than Los Angeles. He said that he has wanted to make a 3-D film for a long time but was willing to wait for the right project because he didn't want it to be just a gimmick. Selick thinks that Coraline is just as enjoyable without the glasses but that the 3-D heightens the contrast between Coraline's two worlds she inhabits.

While Serge sometimes seems to intimidate or badger the animator in his hot seat, Monica Tasciotti is a very gentle and intuitive interviewer, making her guest feel completely at ease. That said, Serge often has several animators that must be given time in one hour where as Monica can devote a full half hour or more to an interview, which does make quite a difference in the ways they work.

It's hard to believe that this is the fifth year of Annecy Plus, and once again the screening played to a packed audience at the Le Venitien Bistro. Bill Plympton and I began Annecy Plus to present films that have been rejected by the Annecy Official Selection Committee but that we feel deserve to be seen. It has now grown into an "unofficial-official" Friday night event, and this year, as befits a real festival, we awarded our own statutettes. Stuttgart producer Teymour Tehrani designed and produced the Golden Bone award for the film that the audience voted the best underdog film, and Omid Javanshad, on behalf of Welle beer manufacturers, presented the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place audience favorites each with a case of beer.