The Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the globe’s largest annual gathering of animation artists, has announced a number of significant changes for its next edition, scheduled to take place June 10-15, 2019.
Key among those changes is the introduction of a new official competition category for animated features: Contrechamp. A reflection of the ever-growing number of animated features being produced around the globe, the new Contrechamp section, which will screen alongside the regular feature film competition, will present a dozen animated features that have distinctive qualities and challenge audiences. The Contrechamp category will replace the out-of-competition feature category.
The festival is also making strides in showcasing virtual reality projects. While Annecy has showcased vr projects since 2016, next year’s event will introduce a new competitive category for vr that will increase the number of projects presented and draw more attention to the medium. Additionally, the festival’s market/conference component, MIFA, will introduce a new programming track dedicated to immersive creation.
