The Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the premier global event for the world of animation, returns for another year in the scenic French Alps from June 9th to 15th. Earlier today, the lineup for the 2025 Animation Film Festival was announced. Artistic Director Marcel Jean stated, “The quality of independent animation has increased in a most spectacular way,” a sentiment reflected throughout the Official Competition and Contrechamp Feature sections. Below is a look at the ten films selected for these key sections, alongside Jean’s insights on why each title stood out.
Official Competition
“Allah Is Not Obliged,” Zaven Najjar (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada)
“For his first feature film, Zaven Najjar rose to the challenge of adapting Ahmadou Kourouma’s novel ‘Allah is Not Obliged.’ It’s a tall order given the book’s raw, unusual language, which the director manages to preserve in this first-person narrative of a child soldier.”
“A Magnificent Life,” Sylvain Chomet (France, Luxembourg, Belgium)
“Sylvain Chomet makes his comeback with this feature film dedicated to Marcel Pagnol. It is such a delight to see the filmmaker’s sophisticated graphics again, and for the first time, he uses dialogue to capture the musical Marseille accent.”
“Arco,” Ugo Bienvenu (France)
“True to his graphic style, Ugo Bienvenu offers us an astonishing first science-fiction feature film for all the family, in which a 10-year-old girl takes in a boy of the same age from the future.”
“ChaO,” Yasuhiro Aoki (Japan)
“This whimsical tale comes to us from Japan, with its assertive graphic style and bold colors, somewhat reminiscent of Masaaki Yuasa and Taiyō Matsumoto.”
“Dandelion’s Odyssey,” Momoko Seto (France, Belgium)
“It is an understatement to say that Momoko Seto’s debut feature was eagerly awaited! We are delighted to discover that, from the very first seconds of the film, we were fascinated by this original imagery, a skillful blend of scientific shooting techniques and digital animation. Like dandelion seeds, we are hurtling along a strange and perilous journey….”
“Death Does Not Exist,” Felix Dufour-Laperrière (Canada, France)
“Félix Dufour-Laperrière, who won an award in the Contrechamp selection in 2021 with ‘Archipel,’ returns to Annecy with his third feature. Visually stunning, the film plunges us into the torments of a young woman haunted by guilt following an attack that went wrong.”
“Into the Mortal World,” Zhong Ding (China)
“This is yet another demonstration of the exceptional expertise of Chinese studios. ‘Into the Mortal World’ is intended for all audiences, a spectacular, funny film, full of action and emotion.”
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han (France)
“For their first feature film, Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han adapted Amélie Nothomb’s novel with finesse and sensitivity. A dazzling offering, brought to life by both the magical script and Mari Fukuhara’s music, the film will appeal to audiences of all ages.”
“Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake,” Irene Iborra (Spain, France, Belgium, Chile)
“One of the great surprises of the selection! This is the only stop-motion feature film in the official competition. ‘Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake’ intelligently and skilfully addresses children tackling an essential social reality without pettiness or sentimentality.”
“The Last Blossom,” Baku Kinoshita (Japan)
“‘The Last Blossom’ is set in the yakuza underworld and evokes the atmosphere of some of Takeshi Kitano’s films (‘Hana-bi,’ ‘Sonatine’). An opportunity to discover a truly unique director, Baku Kinoshita.”
2025 Contrechamp Feature Competition
“Balentes,” Giovanni Columbu (Italy)
“A delightful discovery, this unique film follows two children in the 1940s Sardinian countryside. A moving and gripping experience due to its interesting subject matter and experimental form.”
“Endless Cookie,” Seth and Peter Scriver (Canada)
“Seth Scriver brought us ‘Asphalt Watches’ in competition in 2014, and now he’s back this year with ‘Endless Cookie,’ co-directed with his half-brother Pete Scriver. In a bursting, humorous style, it parallels the differences between the experiences of the two brothers, one white and the other Native.”
“Jinsei,” Ryuya Suzuki (Japan)
“Ryuya Suzuki’s first feature film reminds us of the minimalist visual aesthetics of ‘On-Gaku: Our Sound’ by Kenji Iwaisawa. Jinsei is an uncompromising social satire that examines identity and the meaning of life. Through a videotape, the viewer becomes witness to a man’s life who has no history and is in search of an identity.”
“Lesbian Space Princess,” Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese (Australia)
“This wacky comedy comes to us from Australia, where the title already says it all. Directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ is both delightful and surprising.”
“Memory Hotel,” Heinrich Sabl (Germany)
“In his highly stylized debut feature, German director Heinrich Sabl transports us to 1945, to a strange hotel where little Sophie encounters horrors, loses her memory, and finds it again, while history’s tragedy is played out all around her.”
“Nimuendaj,” Tania Cristina Anaya (Brazil, Peru)
“Out of Brazil comes this astonishing Curt Unckel biopic, the famous German ethnologist and writer christened Nimuendajú by the Guarani people in 1906. Director Tanya Anaya succeeds in capturing this man’s deep commitment as he witnessed first-hand the persecution suffered by the indigenous people.”
“Olivia & The Clouds,” Tomás Pichardo Espaillat (Dominican Republic)
“Tomás Pichardo Espaillat’s fourth selection for Annecy is the first animated feature to come out of the Dominican Republic, an amazing journey between four characters and even more animation techniques.”
“Space Cadet,” Kid Koala (U.S.)
“For his first feature film, musician Eric San (Kid Koala) adapts his own graphic novel, published in 2011. It features Celeste, the orphaned daughter of a famous astronaut, raised by a robot guardian and herself destined for space exploration. A film for all the family that tackles the subject of memory.
“Tales from the Magic Garden,” David Sukup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar, Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Slovenia)
“Four directors from four countries join forces to create a bundle of tales spotlighting the imagination. We’re almost surprised to find so much cohesion in this children’s film, whose very genesis proves that across different origins and cultures, collaboration and understanding are possible.”
“The Great History of Western Philosophy,” Aria Covamonas (Mexico)
“Aria Covamonas, an unclassifiable filmmaker, openly uses several great historical figures to deliver a delirious satire using collage with surrealist overtones.”
“The Square,” Bo-Sol Kim (South Korea)
“This is perhaps the most unexpected film of the selection. The forbidden love story between a Swedish diplomat and a young North Korean woman, under the watchful eye of his interpreter and, no doubt, the secret services.”
Midnight Specials
All You Need Is Kill, Dir. Kenichiro Akimoto
Another World, Dir. Kai Chung and Tommy Ng
Heart of Darkness, Dir. Rogerio Nunes
Mononoke The Movie: Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage, Dir. Kenji Nakamura and Kiyotaka Suzuki
Nightmare Bugs, Dir. Saku Sakamoto and Osamu Fukutani
Works in Progress
Carmen, Dir. Sébastien Laudenbach
The Cat in the Hat, Dir. Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni
Daisy’s Life, Dir. Masaaki Yuasa
Devil’s Vein, The, Dir. Germán Acuña
Fairyheart, Dir. Anita Doron
Fallen, Dir. Louis Clichy
Heirloom, Dir. Upamanyu Bhattacharyya
In Waves, Dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen
Lucy Lost, Dir. Olivier Clert
The Mourning Children: Nagiko and the Girls Wearing Tsurubami Black, Dir. Sunao Katabuchi
The Violinist, Dir. Ervin Han and Raul Garcia
Zsazsa Zaturnnah, Dir. Avid Liongoren
Series
Bitches, Dir. Marion Tacconi
Get Jiro, Dir. Rick Morales
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, Dir. Guillaume Dousse and Félicien Colmet Daâge
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads, Dir. Gonzalo Cordova, Rodolfo Ambriz, Arturo Ambriz, Ana Coronilla, Fernanda G. Manzur, Irene Melis, Beto Petiches, Marta Hernaiz Pidal
Three Honorary Cristals will be awarded in 2025 to legendary artists who have redefined the landscape of animation through their work:
- Michel Gondry, renowned for his surreal music videos and inventive filmmaking, will also debut his new film “Maya, Give Me Another Title.”
- Joanna Quinn, an iconic British animator and advocate for women in the industry, will be honored as part of the 10th anniversary of Annecy’s Women in Animation initiative.
- Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons,” will attend a special screening and discuss the series’ legacy as it enters its 36th season.
Annecy will also feature screenings and presentations from major studios like Pixar, Sony, Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros.
Several highly anticipated films will receive non-competition screenings at this year’s event:
- “Fixed,” dir. Genndy Tartakovsky
- “Animal Farm,” dir. Andy Serkis
- “Maya, Give Me Another Title,” dir. Michel Gondry
- “Falcon Express,” from TAT Productions
- “The Songbird’s Secret,” dir. Antoine Lanciaux
Last year, Annecy launched a new non-competitive section, allowing the general public to get an early look at several upcoming films. This year’s lineup includes:
“Captain Sabertooth and the Countess of Grel,” Yaprak Morali, Are Austnes, Rasmus A. Sivertsen (Norway)
“Fleak,” Jens Møller, Mikko Pitkänen and Luca Bruno (Finland, France, Malaisia, Poland)
“The Girl Who Stole Time,” Ao Yu and Tienan Zhou (China)
“Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog,” Benjamin Mousquet (Belgium, France)
“I am Frankelda,” Rodolfo Ambriz and Arturo Ambriz (Mexico)
“Mary Anning,” Marcel Barelli (Belgium, Switzerland)
“My Grandfather is a Nihonjin,” Célia Catunda (Brazil)
“Little Caribou,” Barry O’Donoghue (Ireland)
“Csongor és Tünde,” Máli Csaba, Pálfi Zsolt (Hungary)
“Spiked,” Caroline Origer (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, United Kingdom)
“Stitch Head,” Steve Hudson (Germany, Luxembourg)
“Thelma’s Perfect Birthday,” Reinis Kalnaellis (Latvia, Luxembourg)
“Hyakuemu,” Kenji Iwaisawa (Japan, USA)
Are you excited for the 2025 Annecy International Film Festival? What do you think of this year’s lineup? Are you planning to attend the festival this year? Which films are you most looking forward to seeing? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our X account.
