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Annecy 2022 Winners Annecy 2022 Winners

Annecy was back in person and bigger than ever this year, with a record 13,248 (a full 8% more than 2019’s record) accredited visitors attending the French animation festival.

During a joyous closing ceremony on Saturday evening, festival legend Guillermo del Toro delighted attendees by announcing via video that Mexico will hold pride of place at Annecy 2023. Surely part of the crowd’s enthusiasm for the news came from the likelihood that the filmmaker himself will be back in attendance next year. It was also announced that Maya and the Three, The Book of Life, and El Tigre creator and Annecy fan favorite Jorge Gutierrez will design the 2023 festival poster.

Following its premiere at Cannes last month, Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be bolstered its festival cred by scooping the Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film to cap off the night’s festivities. Directed by Benjamin Massoubre (editor on I Lost My Body) and Amandine Fredon (an animator on A Cat in Paris), the film was adapted from the popular children’s book series created by René Goscinny and animated using a “Chinese ink-wash animation” style, inspired by the look and texture of the book’s original artwork by Jean-Jacques Sempé.

The Jury Award for a feature and the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution went to No Dogs or Italians Allowed from filmmaker Alain Ughetto (Jasmine), using clay stop-motion to retrace the steps of his ancestors who, in the early 20th century, crossed the alps to emigrate from Italy to France.

This year’s feature film competition lineup was among the best we’ve ever seen at Annecy, or any animation festival for that matter, and the jury seemed to agree, offering up a pair of further special distinctions for Signe Baumane’s My Love Affair with Marriage and Pierre Foldes’ Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.

In the Contrechamp lineup, Koji Yamamura’s Dozens of Norths took the top prize.

Annecy’s shorts lineup was equally packed, but Balázs Turai’s neon splashed fever dream Amok rose above the pack to take the Cristal. The film is now qualified for the Academy Awards.

From the tv competition, Sara Gunnarsdottir’s My Year of Dicks took top honors.

Below, a list of all the winning titles from this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

FEATURE FILMS

Cristal for a Feature Film

Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be – Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre, France/Luxembourg

Jury Award

No Dogs or Italians Allowed – Alain Ughetto, France/Italy/Switzerland

Jury Distinction

My Love Affair with Marriage – Signe Baumane, Latvia/U.S./Luxembourg

Jury Distinction

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman – Pierre Foldes, France/Luxembourg/Canada/Netherlands

Gan Foundation Award for Distribution

Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens – Alain Ughetto, France/Italy/Switzerland

CONTRECHAMP

Contrechamp Award

Dozens of Norths – Koji Yamamura, Japan/France

Contrechamp Jury Distinction

Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On – Jun-pyo Hong, South Korea

SHORT FILMS

Cristal for a Short Film

Amok – Balázs Turai, Hungary/Romania

Jury Award

Steakhouse – Spela Cadez, Slovenia/Germany/France

“Off-Limits” Awards

Intersect – Dirk Koy, Switzerland

Jury Distinction

The Record – Jonathan Laskar, Switzerland

Jury Distinction

Anxious Body – Yoriko Mizushiri, France/Japan

GRADUATION FILMS

Cristal for a Graduation Film

Persona – Sujin Moon, South Korea

Jury Award

A Dog Under a Bridge – Rehoo Tan, China

Jury Distinction

Mom, What’s up with the Dog? – Lola Lefevre, France

TV

Cristal for a TV Production

My Year of Dicks – Sara Gunnarsdottir, U.S.

Jury Award for a TV Special

The House Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth Von Bahr, Paloma Baeza, U.K./U.S.

Jury Award for a TV Series

Two Little Birds – Alejo Schettini, Alfredo Soderguit, Argentina/Colombia/Uruguay

COMMISSIONED FILMS

Cristal for a Commissioned Film

Save Ralph – Spencer Susser, U.K.

Jury Award

Aline – Wes Anderson, France

VR WORKS

Cristal for the Best VR Work

Glimpse – Benjamin Cleary, Michael O’Connor

Jury Distinction

Goliath: Playing With Reality – Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla, U.K./France

SPECIAL PRIZES

France TV Award for a Short Film

Amok – Balázs Turai, Hungary/Romania

Canal+ Junior Jury Award

La Calesita – Augusto Schillaci, Argentina/U.S.

Young Audience Award

The Queen of the Foxes – Marina Rosset, Switzerland

Best Original Music Award for a Short Film

The Queen of the Foxes – Rahel Zimmerman, Switzerland

Best Original Music Award for a Feature Film

Quantum Cowboys – Howe Gelb, Maciej Zielinksi, U.S

André-Martin Award for a French Short Film

Histoire pour 2 trompettes – Amandine Meyer, France

Festivals Connexion Award

Terra Incognita – Pernille Kjaer, Adrian Dexter, Denmark/France

YouTube Award

The Invention of Less – Noah Erni, Switzerland

City of Annecy Award

Reparations – Wilson Borja, Colombia

Pictured Above: ‘Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be,’ ‘Dozens of Norths,’ ‘Amok,’ ‘My Year of Dicks’

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