While many French animation studios and their teams are grappling with a crisis, the French animation industry received significant recognition during the closing ceremony of the 49th Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Saturday, June 14. The Cristal for Best Feature Film was awarded to Arco, named after a young hero from the future who falls from the sky and is taken in by a girl his age, Iris (their names reference "arco iris," rainbow in Spanish).
This debut animated feature confirms 38-year-old Ugo Bienvenu's talent for crafting humanist futuristic fiction, whether it emerges in comics, like System Preference, or on the big screen.
Another French production honored was Planètes (Planets) by Momoko Seto, which won the Paul-Grimault Prize. Described during its Annecy screening as "an action movie with plants," the film follows four dandelion achenes on an epic migratory journey. In the short film category, the jury also awarded a Cristal to French director Pierre-Luc Granjon for Les Bottes de la nuit (The Night Boots), a film created using the pinscreen animation technique and intended for a young audience.
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