The Latvian delegation at the world’s most important animated film festival in Annecy (France) was met with great success – an award for Indra Sproģe’s Annecy film contest submission, recognition for Lizete Murovska’s project in the MIFA film market, many new LIDA supported business contacts, and a heightened interest in Latvian animation.
Published: 28.06.2016.
At this year’s Annecy International Film Festival, more than 2600 films were submitted from 85 different countries; more than 200 films were selected for competition, and from these only 18 received an award. Latvia is one of the 13 countries that this year in Annecy earned official recognition – the jury prize was presented to Indra Sproģe’s short film Awesome Beetle’s Colors, a Latvian comedy about the alphabet’s English version. French director and screenwriter Cédric Babouche, who sat on the jury in the Commissioned Films category, said he knew immediately who they should reward in the educational film section – “Awesome Beetle’s… persuaded at once with music, absurd story and the ability to so easily meet the specific purpose – to establish a link between all the letters in the alphabet. I can’t wait to show it to children!”. The Latvian film market is already amidst talks on how to realize the alphabet in French, Italian or German.
New director Lizete Murovska with her work Riga’s Lilac, despite strong competition, has won the right to participate in the global animated project presentation which was organized within the framework of the festival. Her project was offered the opportunity to be further developed in France in one of the regional cultural project incubators, which cover all residence and implementation of the project, and the necessary technical costs.
Annecy’s festival is the world’s most prestigious and influential animated film festival, this year taking place from the 13th to the 18th of June and bringing together more than 8239 accredited film professionals from 77 countries. The Latvian delegation worked from a booth in the film market decorated with the support of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA), and the newly established Association of Latvian Animated Films publicized its country’s films in special catalogues. Also actively working were separate producers, including studio Atom Art who travelled to Annecy with two of director Edmunds Jansons’ sizeable projects – 26 minute Christmas story Pigtail and Mr Sleeplessness and full-length feature film Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs, supported by the program Latvian Films for Latvian Centenary.
On the 16th of June in the Latvian booth, partners, festival programmers, distributors and potential customers came together; the same day the Annecy film market was visited by the French president François Hollande and the Minister of Culture, Audrey Azoulay. This was the first time that a French president has attended the festival, emphasizing the fact that the economy supporting French animation, and its growing success, is sound.