This Monday, June 12, was the first day of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. A very varied selection of films in and out of competition is unveiled, to which are added event screenings (world premieres). This year, the JustFocus team offers you every day a summary of the films in competition.
In a corner of this world
Adapted from the manga by Fumiyo Kouno, this Japanese animated film directed by Sunao Katabuchi takes place during the Second World War. We follow the story of Suzu, a young girl who leaves her hometown, Hiroshima, to live in Kure with her husband's family, whom she barely knows. In a corner of this world, in the manner of Isao Takahata's Tomb of the Fireflies, approaches the misery of that time in a less crude way. Katabuchi's film discovers family members strengthening their bonds through incessant bomb threats, Suzu's drawings and military naval vocabulary. It is an animated film that overflows with poetry and smiles, but knows how to make the viewer's emotion waver towards something more powerful. Beware, however, of some particularly strong images that may only be intended for an informed public.
Tehran Taboo
This time we are heading for a German-Austrian film with Tehran Tabou, directed by Ali Soozandeh. Aesthetically close to reality, this film impressed us with its particular animation as well as its very powerful theme. The director says that the choice of the animated film was made because of censorship, the impossibility for him and his team to shoot this film in Tehran and even to tell this story with real actors. His desire to show the Iranian capital could not be done through another city, such as Marrakech which was one of the only places where they were allowed to film; This choice of semi-realistic animation allowed the film to exist. How about diving into the troubled daily life of the people of Tehran? This is what the film proposes by mixing the lives of characters completely unknown to each other, including women who have to fight every day against the male supremacy that still rages in Iran. Powerful, raw and denouncing, Tehran Taboo makes us travel through the streets of this multifaceted city.
Ethel and Ernest
Head to England with Ethel and Ernest, a film based on the graphic novel of the same name written and drawn by Raymond Briggs. Through this work, the author-illustrator tells the story of his parents, whom director Roger Mainwood was able to put on screen in this animated film. This project took ten years to create for a result that surprised us. From 1928 to 1971, the life of the Briggs couple unfolds before us, without precise temporal references. Mixing laughter and sadness, the film makes us witness the daily life of these characters and their son, forced to leave his parents because of the war. War whose impact on these lives turned upside down, in a film without extravagances. If, at first glance, the animation technique left us skeptical, it was with surprise that we discovered a film deep and touching in its simplicity. Special mention to Sir Paul McCartney for his song In The Blink of an Eye composed especially for the film.
Zombillénium
It was as part of the opening of the Festival that Zombilenium, an animated film by the duo Arthur de Pins and Alexis Ducord, was presented. The film had already been introduced last year at the same festival in a work in progress, showing the work accomplished over the last four years. So we discovered the fruit of several years of work, in the company of the film team. We follow the story of Hector Saxe, controller of safety standards, who one day stumbles upon the Zombillénium amusement park. In his attempt to close the complex, he ends up losing his life, becoming a monster of the park. Unpretentious, the film remains sober to target the young, as the whole public. The hour and a half spent makes us enjoy a pleasant and satisfying film, without being transcendent in its development.
Six other films in competition will be offered this week, as well as event sessions! Do not hesitate to follow us on our social networks to discover them with us!
