Special Focus On Ireland at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival
The major players in the Irish animation industry are set to attend the world famous Annecy International Animation Festival and market (MIFA) this week when the festival will pay tribute to Ireland with a host of screenings and events throughout the festival. Along with the special Irish focus two Irish projects THE LAST TRAIN and A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE are in official competition at this year's festival.
The Annecy Animation Festival is the world's largest event entirely focused on animation and will be attended by some of the biggest international players in animation including Pixar and Disney amongst others. Oscar nominees Cartoon Saloon and Brown Bag Films will be attending along with a host of other Irish animation companies including Kavaleer, JAM Media, Boulder, Keg Kartoonz, Telegael, Dancing Girl Productions, Monster Entertainment and Monster Animation to name a few.
Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and Enterprise Ireland will launch an exciting new Irish animation promo and brochure showcasing work from right across the Irish sector at events organised by the two agencies during the market. These events will be attended by the Ambassador of Ireland to France, Mr Paul Kavanagh who is a special guest of the festival this year.
Christophe Erbes will moderate an animation industry panel "Ireland Presents.... Co-Producing Opportunities with Ireland" which will feature James Hickey (Irish Film Board), Cathal Gaffney (Brown Bag Films), Paul Young (Cartoon Saloon) and John Rice (JAM Media).
Oscar nominated director Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells) will deliver a key note speech to the sector at an Irish networking event while his film The Secret of Kells will screen as part of the Forty Shades of Green programme and a selection of his work will be showcased in a special exhibition of artwork during the festival.
Forty Shades of Green is a five part programme of Irish animation curated by Steve Woods and presented by the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland and IFI International. It consists of programmes of Irish animation dating from the 1910s to the present day. Along with The Secret of Kells, four programmes will comprise of roughly 90 minutes each taking in children's TV shows, art films and Irish language and archival works.
The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland will round off the events celebrating the festivals tribute to Ireland with a special event to celebrate Irish directors at the festival. Directors are travelling to the festival with the support of Culture Ireland.
The Irish animation industry is primarily an export focused business that remains a leading full time employer in the Irish audio visual sector.
The Annecy International Film Festival takes place 6th - 11th June while MIFA takes place 6th - 8th June in Annecy, France.
More about THE LAST TRAIN
THE LAST TRAIN is an animated short directed by Alex Sherwood, Ben Harper and Sean Mullen from Giant Creative. It tells the story of an unsuspecting passenger in a train, at night who is pursued by a mysterious force. The film was made as part of the Animation Hub with support from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and Science Foundation Ireland.
More about A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE directed by Chris O'Hara tells of how a visit from an alien life form results in a change of perspective in more ways than one. The short is O'Hara's first self-funded short film.