Press release from the National Film Board of Canada:
Montreal, Canada – The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is taking the official competition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival by storm with four films: Le grand ailleurs et le petit ici (Here and the Great Elsewhere) by Michèle Lemieux, Bydlo by Patrick Bouchard, Edmond était un âne (Edmond Was a Donkey) by Franck Dion and Kali le petit vampire (Kali the Little Vampire) by Regina Pessoa. These films will compete for the prestigious Cristal d’Annecy for best short film among a selection of 49 works representing the cream of international animated film. Tom Perlmutter, Chairperson of the NFB, will be a member of the jury for the feature-film competition.
The Annecy Festival, which annually brings animation professionals from across the globe to the shore of one of Europe’s most beautiful lakes, is the oldest and biggest event of its kind. Over 7,000 accredited participants will be doing business at the festival screenings and the Film Market (MIFA).
IN OFFICIAL COMPETITION
The second film by the world-famous illustrator/filmmaker Michèle Lemieux, Le grand ailleurs et le petit ici was made using the Alexeïeff-Parker pinscreen. This legendary and mysterious device consists of a screen pierced by 250,000 pins on which it is possible to create images that evoke the aesthetic of masterpieces of early engraving. A philosophical reflection that is both profound and playful, Le grand ailleurs et le petit ici was produced by Julie Roy. The pinscreen acquired by the NFB in 1973 is the only instrument of its kind still in use.
Directed by Patrick Bouchard and produced by Julie Roy, Bydlo uses dramatic imagery to tell a story inspired by the fourth movement of Pictures at an Exhibition by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. An allegory of mankind heading for disaster, the film shows a greedy and angry people consuming the energy of the mighty ox to which they are joined. Bydlo will have its world premiere in Annecy.
Edmond était un âne, directed by Franck Dion, was co-produced with the French studio Papy3D and ARTE France. Telling the moving story of a lovable oddball, the film delicately probes the issue of difference versus social conformity. The film was produced by Franck Dion, Richard Van Den Boom and Julie Roy.
Co-produced by France, Portugal, Canada and Switzerland, Kali le petit vampire was directed by Regina Pessoa, whose previous film Tragic Story with a Happy Ending won the Cristal d’Annecy in 2006. For her new film the director called on the services of Oscar-winning actor Christopher Plummer and post-industrial musical group the Young Gods. The film is produced by Abi Feijó (Ciclope Filmes), Julie Roy and René Chénier (NFB), Pascal Le Nôtre (Folimage Studio), and Georges Schwizgebel and Claude Luyet (Studio GDS).
PANORAMA SECTION
Two NFB films will screen in the out-of-competition section at Annecy: Oedipus, directed by Paul Driessen and produced in partnership with the Dutch studio il Luster by Marcy Page, Arnoud Rijken and Michiel Snijders; and Romance, directed by Georges Schwizgebel and produced in partnership with the Swiss studio GDS by Georges Schwizgebel, Marc Bertrand and René Chénier.