POLISH DELEGATION - FIFTH TIME AT MIFA
Each year in mid-June, animation professionals from all around the world gather in a small town in France called Annecy. Annecy is the location of the oldest film festival dedicated to animated film, as well as the accompanying Mifa exhibition. Each year, Polish films are featured both at the festival and at the animation industry-related part of the event.
The festival is the essence of Annecy. In June, the whole town is living and breathing the event. The audience is abundant and spontaneous in its reactions to featured films. Each evening, open-air cinema screenings draw thousands of viewers. The festival has five competition selections that always inspire greatest emotions. Films compete in five categories: feature film, short film, student film, television series, and commissioned films.
At this year’s 39th edition of the Annecy festival, there will be four Polish animations competing for Cristal awards. "Fugue for cello, trumpet and landscape" by Jerzy Kucia and "Sexy laundry" by Izabela Plucińska will meet in the short film competition,"Don't loose your head" by Karolina Specht will compete for the student film award, and "It's quite true" Joanna Jasieńska-Koronkiewicz will participate in the television series competition. We will also see Polish representatives in the feature film selection. The latest animated documentary by Anca Damian "Magic mountain", a Polish-Romanian co-production, will be screened outside of the competition.
Recent years have been good for Polish animation filmmakers, who received various awards and distinctions in Annecy: Kamil Polak won the Best Debut Prize for "The Lost Town of Switez", and Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi received the Best Graduation Film award for her "Ab ovo". In 2013, when Marcel Jean became the festival’s Artistic Director, a special extensive section presenting a chosen country’s achievements in animated film was dedicated to Poland. The programme featured around 100 animations by accomplished animation filmmakers as well as young, rising artists and students.
The International Animation Film Market exhibition, or Mifa, held in parallel to the film festival, is one of the most important animation events and a meeting point for animation professional from all over the world. Exhibitors include film studios and companies showcasing the latest technologies in animation. Mifa is attended by numerous producers, commissioning editors of animation broadcasting channels, filmmakers, representatives of institutions, artists, and art students. The event’s programme includes five pitch sessions, presentations dedicated to selected countries and film studios, work in progress sections, and meetings with representatives of television and animation channels that broadcast animated content.
This year’s edition is the fifth with the participation of Polish animation exhibitors. Polish Animations stand, prepared and organised by the Krakow Film Foundation with support of the Polish Film Institutes, showcases various producers representing largest Polish animation studios, such as Platige Image, Human Ark, Studio Miniatur Filmowych, and Se-Ma-For. Representatives of institutions such as the Krakow Film Foundation and the Association of Polish Animation Producers will be also present at the stand. This year, once again a cocktail party will be held in order to highlight the participation of Polish films in the competition. Attending the exposition gives producers an opportunity for expanding their contacts and exchanging experiences. Polish producers come to the event bringing projects in various stages of production and often finding new partners. The Polish stand is organised by the Krakow Fillm Foundation.
This year Mifa is celebrating its 30th anniversary. For this occasion, a new Mifa & Variety Animation Personality of the Year Prize will be awarded to a personality whose achievements or innovative approach contributed to the development of the art of animation. This year’s prize will go to an American producer Chris Meledandri, the founder of Illumination Entertainment.
The 39th edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival will be celebrated from 15 to 20 June.
You can read more about the festival here