Marcel Jean Stepping Down As Annecy Artistic Director As Fest Launches Search For His Successor

Marcel Jean will step down as artistic director of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival after its 2027 edition, ending a transformational 15 years at the world’s oldest and largest animation festival.

Annecy confirmed the leadership change by announcing that it has begun searching for a new artistic director to oversee the festival’s 2028, 2029, and 2030 editions. The announcement, also shared on LinkedIn, does not name Jean, but the recruitment campaign effectively confirms that his successor will take up the role in July 2027, after next year’s festival.

The new artistic director will work alongside CITIA’s managing director to “conceive, develop and lead a new artistic vision” for Annecy. Responsibilities will include determining the festival’s artistic direction, assembling its programming, identifying emerging talent, and representing the event within the French and international animation industries.

According to the posting, Annecy is looking for someone with extensive knowledge of animation and cinema, a strong artistic vision, and an international outlook. The organization says preserving Annecy’s identity while deciding how the festival should evolve will be one of the position’s main challenges.

Jean, a Canadian producer, director, author, film historian, festival fan favorite, and genuinely wonderful person, was appointed Annecy’s artistic director in 2012 and programmed his first edition in 2013. During his tenure, the festival expanded tremendously in both scale and scope, although not without criticism. Annecy reported a record 19,100 accredited attendees from 118 countries for its 2026 edition.

Jean also oversaw several significant programming changes, including introducing the Off-Limits, Perspectives, and Young Audiences short film competitions and launching Contrechamp, Annecy’s second competitive feature section and one of its coolest, in 2019. These additions helped create more space in the official selection for experimental work, films from emerging animation territories, and features operating outside conventional production and storytelling models.

Applications for Jean’s replacement are now open. The selected candidate will help shape the first three post-Jean editions of the festival.