Organizers announce 60th anniversary edition will proceed online from June 14-19 after deciding event couldn’t be rescheduled; official selection and online festival details coming April 15.
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival organizers have just released a note saying Annecy 2020, their 60th anniversary edition, has been canceled. However, an online festival will be held in its place, from June 14-19; details of the upcoming digital gathering, as well as the Official Selections, will be announced April 15.
Here is the full statement from the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market team:
Dear friends of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market,
It is with tremendous disappointment that we are resigned to cancelling the Annecy 2020 edition.
Over the past few weeks, driven by our passion and our enthusiasm, despite the confinement constraints we were nevertheless hoping to maintain the exceptional edition that we had in store for you. We were so looking forward to greeting you as we do every year in June, in Annecy, the animation film capital of the world.
But today, the rationale and the international situation compel us to act with lucidity and responsibility. To show our respect and our deep gratitude to the health care providers, as well as all those who choose solidarity and the public interest.
Annecy is a party, a "family gathering". We cannot bring ourselves to celebrate animation and our 60th anniversary when some amongst you would not be able to attend.
We took the decision not to move the Festival to a later date. The necessary facilities and the regular events’ calendar, as well as scheduled postponements of other events, do not provide us with a reasonable option.
For several weeks, our founding members, partners, suppliers, professionals and creators have been sending us their full support, and for this we are immensely grateful. These encouragements motivate us to offering an Annecy 2020 online version that would give access to exclusive works and original content, despite the current circumstances.
The Official Selection will be announced on 15th April; we will then disclose an offer that will be elaborate and up to the expectations of our festivalgoers and loyal Mifa professionals.
The team is mobilised on this project, so see you in the forthcoming days, and from 14th to 19th June 2021 to finally celebrate, as it should be, the Festival’s 60th anniversary, and African animation, in Annecy.
Dominique Puthod, CITIA Chairman
Mickaël Marin, CITIA CEO
Marcel Jean, Artistic Director
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market team
As the number of theme parks, studios, productions, and events around the world voluntarily shut down or otherwise postpone their operations for an undetermined amount of time, Annecy 2020’s cancelation was unfortunately expected. However, moving the festival online, to whatever degree possible, is an important and welcome effort. Like ITFS, which announced their online festival yesterday, Annecy is choosing to quickly change course and migrate their festival online; their hard work to bring the animation community together, even remotely, is to be commended and supported. AWN looks forward to announcing the official selections, program details, and participating; we look forward as well, with great anticipation, to strolling the shores of Lake Annecy once again in Summer 2021.
Source: Annecy Festival 2020
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
