Animation Day

To promote the possibilities of animation, Cannes’s Marché du Film has teamed up with the Annecy Int’l Animated Film Festival to present a day of panels and mixers on Sunday, May 19. The program will feature the fourth Annecy Goes to Cannes presentation of five in-progress feature films, complimented by a panel discussion on adult animated film distribution.

“I can only revel in this initiative that enables our two entities to bolster the visibility of animated films at Cannes, and to support this marvelous dynamic experienced by animation feature film. I am very grateful to Jérôme Paillard and the Marché du Film de Cannes for this collaboration that enables diverse professionals to seize the opportunities of an art that is constantly pushing boundaries,” says Mickaël Marin, CEO, CITIA. Among the in-production films to be spotlighted on this special day are:

• Spain/China. Attending: Ignacio Ferreras (director), Jian-Ping Li (co-director), Manuel Cristobal (producer, Dragoia Media) and Weiwei Song (co-producer, China Film Animation)
• Archipelago. Attending: Félix Dufour-Laperrière (director) and Nicolas Dufour-Laperrière (producer, Embuscade films)
• France/Belgium. Attending: Didier and Damien Brunner (producers, Folivari)
• Bob Spit – We Do Not Like People. Attending: Cesar Cabral (director) and Ivan Melo (producer, Coala Filmes)
• Yakari. France/Germany/Belgium. Attending: Xavier Giacometti (director) and Maïa Tubiana (producer, Dargaud Media)

(Entry with Marché du Film badge or by registration, first come, first seated.)

Also planned for this day is the essential panel, The A-Z Game Plan to Releasing Adult Animated Films for the Big Screen, which brings together producers, international sellers, distributors and operators to discuss the growing business of mature audience animation. Panelists will deliberate on how to make the best choices from scripting to release, the merits of specialized distributors, and the smart marketing practices that will support a successful cinema release. (Starts at 11:30 a.m.)