Annecy 2024

Claude Barras' second feature-length animated film SAVAGES recently celebrated its world premiere in Cannes and is now screening in the Feature Films competition in Annecy

The Swiss-Belgian-French coproduction by Nadasdy Film is set in Borneo and tells the story of Kéria, a girl who rescues a baby orangutan and fights with her indigenous cousin against the deforestation of the tropical forest. Animation specialists from all over the world worked on the elaborate stop-motion animation.

Claude Barras has already won numerous international awards and received an Oscar as well as a Golden Globe nomination for his first feature-length film MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI. In August, Barras will receive the Locarno Kids Award at the Locarno Film Festival and SAVAGES will be screened on the Piazza Grande

JOURNEY OF SHADOWS (Freihändler Filmproduktion) is the feature debut by multimedia artist Yves Netzhammer. The film celebrated its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Netzhammer works with a 3D animation technique specially developed for this film and uses surreal images to reflect on what makes people human in a technological age. The film is screening in the Contrechamp Competition.

The short film competition features the animated road movie THE CAR THAT CAME BACK FROM THE SEA by Jadwiga Kowalska. Six friends travel to the Polish Baltic Sea in a small dented car. During the journey, their car and their country fall apart, but life goes on. The film premiered at the International Short Film Festival Winterthur and was nominated for the Swiss Film Award.

Four productions by Nadasdy Film

In addition to SAVAGES, the busy Geneva-based animation film studio Nadasdy Film has also co-produced three short animated films that can be seen in Annecy: BAKING WITH BORIS by Maša Avramović (France, Switzerland, Croatia) is screening in the “Young Audiences” competition; LOLA ET LE PIANO À BRUITS by Augusto Zanovello (France, Poland, Switzerland) and THE DRIFTING GUITAR by Sophie Roze (France, Switzerland) are screening in the competition for TV films.

Matthias Schüpbach presents his experimental short film SEARCHING FOR THE 5TH DIRECTION, which was produced as a graduation film in the animation department of the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art HSLU in the Graduation Films Competition.

Industry activities at the MIFA film market

SWISS FILMS will participate at MIFA, one of the world's most important film markets for the animation industry, with its own stand and advises international industry representatives on Swiss animation.

At the recommandation of SWISS FILMS, the three Swiss producers Stella Händler (Freihändler Filmproduktion), Olivier Zobrist (Langfilm) and Clémence Pun (Hélium Films) will take part in the “Déjeuner de coproduction francophone”. This platform is organized by Canadian SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles Québec) in collaboration with Wallonie Bruxelles Images, Film Fund Luxembourg and SWISS FILMS. 20 producers will have the opportunity to network with potential coproduction partners for their new projects

SWISS FILMS has published the new Line-up Animation 2024 to provide information on current Swiss animation. In addition to the Annecy selection and other festival favourites, it also includes a curated selection of new animated films from Switzerland.