Annecy 2021: First round of Canadian animated fest selections!

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For animated film, the 2021 Annecy International Animation Festival and Mifa market are the digital places to be from June 14 to June 19, 2021! This year, Canada is participating virtually with a digital pavilion at Mifa Online (June 15 to 18)! Our projects will be in the festival spotlight, showcasing our diverse talent and industry through animated stories with universal appeal. Here’s your sneak peek at the first eight animated Canadian shorts heading to Annecy 2021. Stay tuned, more titles and details coming soon…

Short Films in Competition L’officielle:

Joanna Quinn’s Affairs of the Art

This U.K.-Canada coproduction is an animated comedy about a 59-year old factory worker-slash-artist named Beryl. This short snagged the Award for Best Animation – International Competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival!

Zacharias Kunuk’s Angakuksajaujuq (The Shaman’s Apprentice)

This short by the co-founder of Isuma (the renowned Inuit production company and artist collective) uses puppets to bring us into the world of a young shaman, tasked with going underground to visit Kannaaluk, The One Below.

Andrea Dorfman’s How to Be at Home

Penned by poet Tanya Davis, who also wrote How to be Alone (a popular book and short film on which this duo collaborated in 2010), the universal and timely theme of isolation is behind this short by the Halifax-based filmmaker and artist.

Mike Maryniuk’s June Night

Buster Keaton is an unlikely haunter this fantasy world, one after COVID, which blends animation and archives. (Did you know the original June Night is a 1940 Swedish film directed by Per Lindberg and starring Ingmar Bergman?)

Claude Cloutier’s Bad Seeds (Mauvaises herbes)

This tale about carnivorous plants explores competition, rivalry and evolution in this short recently selected at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. This award-winning filmmaker has directed many animated films, including 2015’s Carface.

Thomas Corriveau’s They Dance with Their Heads

A passion for dance comes alive in this short through a choreographer’s severed head on a desert island.

Perspectives Short Films in Competition:

Marie Valade’s Boobs (Lolos)

This funny and dark short shows how a woman’s breasts are connected to much symbolism, from early womanhood to motherhood, aging, rivalry, desire and beyond…

Young Audiences Short Films in Competition:

Anders Beer and PH Dallaire’s Itchy the Camel: Tennis Ball

Named Itchy because his hump is itchy, the titular camel of this short for young audiences which runs just under a minute and a half, gets struck by a tennis ball.