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The world of animation also has its feminine side, and this is why the Annecy International Animation Film Festival has decided to give the ladies top billing in 2015, with an all-female jury, the poster created by a well-known artist, programmes made by women directors...
Creatives, artists, producers, programmers representing the fairer sex will be in the spotlight!
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Giving it up to the Ladies!
Annecy 2015 will be highlighting women in animation. Although still a very masculine sector, women have been making themselves more and more visible as demonstrated by the Annecy Cristals won by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (When the Day Breaks, 1999), Regina Pessoa (Tragic Story with Happy Ending, 2005), Suzie Templeton (Peter and the Wolf, 2007), Michaela Pavlatova (Tram, 2012), Dahee Jeong (Man on the Chair, 2014).
On the front line as film directors and producers, or women in the shadows, working in cutting-edge fields from design to creating special effects or 3D animation, they are able to reach levels of excellence and are recognised for their talents by their peers.
A few figures
A study carried out by the CNC in March 2014 entitled "The role of women in the film and audiovisual industry" confirms that women film directors have been virtually absent from French animation since 2008, with no animated features made by women exclusively. Only two films using a male/female directing duo (Aya de Yopougon and Minuscule – Valley of the Lost Ants) have been made in five years. The same is true for the USA with Brave (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman) and Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee).
But the good news is that the tide is turning. The proportion of projects, across all categories, submitted by women to the Annecy Festival has increased more than 10 % in the past ten years, going from 22 % in 2003 to over 32 % in 2013.
Over the same period, among the films received, 25 % of them were chosen for the official selection. Women particularly shine in the short film category, but are still less represented in features (Crulic: the Path to Beyond, by Anca Damian, Romania, Cristal for best feature at Annecy 2012, Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley, USA, Cristal for best feature at Annecy 2008, The Legend of Sarila, by Nancy Florence Savard, Canada, Truth Has Fallen by Sheila Sofian, USA, Buratino's Return by Ekaterina Mikhailova, Russia).
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Zoom on Annecy 2015
Regina Pessoa
The creation of the official poster has been entrusted to a well-known filmmaker from the world of animation, Regina Pessoa. This Portuguese animator is a regular visitor to the event and won the Cristal for best short in 2006 for her film Tragic Story with Happy Ending, which is the most awarded Portuguese animated film in the world to date. Her poster will be revealed sometime in March.
Honorary Cristal 2015
This year the Honorary Cristal will be awarded to Florence Miailhe. With her out-of-the-ordinary style and poetic universe that is instantly recognisable, her short films have often been rewarded with prestigious prizes. In 1999 she made Au premier dimanche d’août, which was in the official selection at Annecy 2000, nominated for the Cartoon d’or 2001 and César for best short film in 2002. Conte de quartier, made in 2006, received a Special Mention from the jury at the Cannes festival.
Pioneers of animation
The spotlight will also include programmes devoted to films made by women, and a tribute to a few female pioneers of the art like Lotte Reiniger, Mary Blair, Alison de Vere, Evelyn Lambart or Claire Parker through films made especially by students from GOBELINS, l’école de l’image.
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Exclusively Feminine International Juries
The juries so far include the following film directors, journalists or producers:
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Bonnie Arnold
She is known for critically and commercially acclaimed animated hits and award-winning dramas. She produced How to Train Your Dragon 2, the Golden Globe-winning sequel to the Oscar-nominated blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon, and was recently named Co-President of feature animation for DreamWorks.
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Constanza Arena
She has a degree in Aesthetics and Audiovisual Communication. She worked in film and advertising independently before entering public television (TVN) where, for seven years, she held various jobs, including the acquisition of packaged content and programmatic analysis of international trends. She is currently the Executive Director of the CinemaChile Foundation, recognised as the main articulator for positioning Chilean cinema abroad.
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Marge Dean
She is Director of Production for Mattel's Playground Productions, and responsible for assuring the best production quality on budget and on time for all animation production. She is currently supporting the productions of Monster High, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Ever After High and Max Steel. She previously worked at Sony and Warner Bros before becoming General Manager of WildBrain Animation Studios. She is also Co-President of Women in Animation.
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Waltraud Grausgruber
She is Director and Co-Founder of the Tricky Women Festival in Vienna ‒ a festival that is dedicated exclusively to animation by women. She studied Tourism, Theatre, Film and Media, and in 2010 was rewarded with the Outstanding Artists Award by the Austrian Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture. Working in collaboration with Birgitt Wagner she co-wrote Tricky Women: Animations Film Kunst von Frauen / Women in Animation.
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Isabel Herguera
She graduated from CalArts in 1993, and has worked for several animation studios in Los Angeles. She regularly teaches at The National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, and at the China Central Academy of Arts in Beijing. Her films Blindman’s Bluff (2005), Amar (2010) and Under the Pillow (2012) have won numerous awards in festivals all over the world. She is currently working on a project inspired by an Indian feminist science fiction tale from 1905.
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Niki Lindroth Von Bahr
She graduated from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. Her films Tord and Tord (2010) and Bath House (2014) have been screened in festivals all over the world. Tord and Tord won the award for best animation in Abu Dhabi, the Grand Prix at the Fredrikstad Animation Festival and was also nominated for best short film in Sweden’s biggest film award ceremony, Guldbaggegalan.
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Monique Simard
She is a French Canadian producer, screenwriter and political figure. From 1998 to 2008, she worked at Productions Virage that produced documentaries centred on social and international issues. Co-founder of the Comité de la condition féminine of the CSN and the Lea Roback Foundation, she is very involved in the field of international solidarity. In January 2014, she became president and Chief Executive Officer of the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles.
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Guillemette Odicino
She has been a journalist and film critic at Télérama for the past 15 years with a particular passion for animation. She is also a Radio journalist on cultural shows on France Inter, and was TV journalist at Canal+ on the show Crash Test ciné for a number of years as well as Chief Editor for the Hors séries Télérama about Marilyn Monroe, the Lumière brothers and others.
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Valérie Schermann
She is founder and Managing Director of the rep agency Prima Linea. She also decided that her passion for drawing should benefit animation and created Prima Linea Productions with Christophe Jankovic, to produce auteur films. In 2003, they set up a studio in Angoulême, followed by another in Paris in 2010 and are currently working on The Red Turtle by Michaël Dudok de Wit.
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Marina Kožul
She works in Zagreb for the audiovisual research association 25 FPS. She has curated programmes for several festivals and art cinemas in Croatia, as well as promoting Croatian innovative film, video and animation within Europe. Since 2012 she has been working with the International Film Festival Rotterdam as a consultant for short films.
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Dates for your diaries
International Animation Film Festival
15th to 20th June 2015
This year Spain will have the place of honour at the Festival, the Mifa and the Meetings.
Discover Spanish animation in all its forms including 8 classic programmes of restored films, a special DVD book devoted to Spanish animation and many other events to be revealed later.
Mifa (International Animation Film Market)
17th to 19th June 2015
Mifa will be 30! For this anniversary year, the Market has a few surprises in store: exceptional keynote speeches, new and original events... a great programme to celebrate 30 years of animation and review the evolution of the industry in France and abroad as well as reflecting about what the future holds.
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