I always approach Annecy with mixed feelings. On the one hand it is an opportunity to see so many dear old friends from all over the world, along with special programs that won’t screen at any other festival, but over the past few years it has become very commercial and shifted the emphasis away from short, independent animation to feature films. With over 7,000 people attending the festival it has become harder and harder for people to get tickets to screenings that they want to see, and if you don’t book a room very early you could end up staying miles from the festival. This year, in spite of many potential difficulties, I did enjoy myself.
The big news of the week wasn’t about film per se, but was Serge Bromberg’s closing night announcement that after 14 years as Festival Artistic Director he is passing the artistic baton to Marcel Jean. Serge wants to concentrate his efforts on his production company, Lobster Films which finds and restoring classic films such as his recent efforts in restoring missing footage to George Milies’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. He did say that he “would see us all next year because I already have my ticket to the 2013 festival”.