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Generation, the Berlin Film Festival sidebar for children and youth films, has announced this year’s winners unveiling the picks from both the Generation 14plus (for teen and older viewers) and the youth jury for the Generation Kplus (kids and tweens) sections.

Sasha Nathwani’s coming-of-age drama Last Swim, about an Iranian-British teen confronting a major life decision, took the Crystal Bear for best film in the Generation 14plus section, with Kim Hye-young’s It’s Okay!, about an orphaned young dancer, winning the top prize for Generation Kplus. Both prizes were awarded by youth juries of young filmgoers.

In its statement, the 14plus jury called Last Swim “a story about the beauty of life and of things coming to an end. It is a film that does not shy away from portraying the messy and consuming feelings that can arise when you know your dreams may not be fulfilled. However,...

Running Jan. 13-Feb. 13, this year’s MyFrenchFilmFestival, an online fest organized by France’s film-tv promotional body Unifrance, will mark its 13th edition with an emphasis on debut features and dynamic new voices.

Showcasing star power, animated auteur fare and award-winning documentaries – all subtitled in 15 languages – the 12 features and 17 shorts of this year’s selection will reach home viewers via 70 partner platforms as well on MyFrenchFilmFestival.com, where all the shorts will be available to screen free of charge.

In an effort to cast as wide a net as possible, this year’s competition will feature projects that run the gamut from Alice Diop’s breakthrough documentary “We” – which finds connections in the lives of immigrants, lovesick teens and retirees all connected by a commuter rail line north of Paris – to Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s satirical sketch comedy “Bloody Oranges,” which shreds polite society with anarchic glee.

In between are everything...

This year’s ceremony was uncharacteristically devoid of controversy after politically-charged editions in 2020 and 2021.

Xavier Giannoli’s costume drama Lost Illusions was the big winner at the 47th Cesar awards of France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences on Friday evening (25), winning best film, adapted screenplay, costume and supporting actor among others.

The adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s19th-century novel premiered in competition at Venice last year. It was the frontrunner at the nomination stage, making it into 15 of the 24 César categories.

The other big winner of the evening was Leos Carax’s English-language musical Annette. Carax won best director,...

Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” and Terence Davies’s “Benediction” won top prizes at the 2022 Ics Awards, which are handed out by the International Cinephile Society.

This 19th edition marked a milestone with female talents winning best picture, director, animated film, documentary, debut feature, breakthrough performance and cinematography.

“Happening,” a timely abortion drama set in 1960s France, took home best picture, while its star, Anamaria Vartolomei, won best breakthrough performance.

“Remarkable in its combination of artistic delicacy and brutal realism, yet resisting any hint of didacticism, the film quietly builds tension to a gut-wrenching emotional pitch,” stated the Ics.

Campion, meanwhile, won best director with her Western family drama “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up for top film was Hamaguchi with “Drive My Car,” a road drama based on Haruki Murakami’s short story about guilt and grief.

Terence Davies' Benediction Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival

It was a good night for female filmmakers at this year's International Cinephile Society awards, with women taking home the gongs for Best Picture, Director, Animated Film, Documentary and Debut Feature. Although no film swept the boards, Terence Davies' Siegfried Sassoon biopic Benediction won the most gongs, with three.

Audrey Diwan’s tense 1960s-set abortion drama Happening was named Best Picture, while her star Anamaria Vartolomei won Best Breakthrough Performance for her role as a woman who is increasingly desperate to terminate her pregnancy. Jane Campion was named Best Director for her Western about toxic masculinity, The Power Of The Dog.

Immersive school portrait Mr Bachmann And His Class, directed by Maria Speth and Best Animated Film went to Florence Miailhe's the crossing, which is painted on glass. Laura Wandel's gripping school bullying drama Playground was named best debut feature.

Ceremony for awards voted on by 4,363 members of the César academy will take place on February 25.

Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions is the frontrunner in the nomination stage of the 47th edition of France’s César awards, followed by Leos Carax’s Annette and Valérie Lemercier’s Aline.

France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences unveiled the nomination list online on Wednesday morning (January 26), ahead of the ceremony scheduled to take place on February 25.

Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition at Venice last year, was nominated in...

The awards are voted on by 95 international correspondents from 36 countries.

Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions leads the nominations of the 27th edition of France’s Lumière awards, followed by Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and Arthur Harari’s Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.

The awards, which are voted on by 95 international correspondents hailing from 36 countries this year, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.

Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition in Venice this year, was nominated in five categories including best film, director, screenplay, actor...

The Crossing Review — The Crossing (2021) Film Review from the 4th Annual Animation Is Film Festival, a movie directed by Florence Miailhe and starring Emilie Lan Durr, Florence Miailhe, Maxime Gemin, Arthur Perreira, Serge Avedikian, Axel Auriant, Marc Brunet, Aline Afanoukoe, Polina Borisova, Mehdi Guerbas, Anne Cart, Jenny Bellay and Jocelyne Desverchere. Centered around [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: The Crossing: A Truly Powerful Look At Trying To Overcome Despair [Aif 2021]...

Neon/Participant’s Oscar buzzy animated doc, “Flee,” won the Grand Prize at the fourth annual Animation Is Film Festival, held last weekend at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood. This follows Sundance doc and Annecy animation wins for the Danish entry in this season’s international Oscar race.

“Flee,” directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, tells the true story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with his secret past as an Afghan refugee on the verge of marrying his husband.

“In the touching and innovative documentary ‘Flee,’ Jonas Poher Rasmussen takes great care in sharing the personal history of an Afghan refugee. The filmmaker uses the process of animation to protect the identity of his subject, while also bringing an added layer to the material, capturing the impact of trauma on memory and identity in the process,” said Jury chair Peter Debruge, chief Variety film critic.

“Belle,” the GKids contender,...

Animation Is Film has announced the winners of its fourth annual film festival. The organization has awarded the grand prize, its top honor, to “Flee.”

Written and directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, “Flee” follows the story of Awin Nawabi, an Afghan refugee who is suddenly forced to face life-altering effects of a secret that he has kept for 20 years. Neon is distributing the film.

“In the touching and innovative documentary ‘Flee,’ Jonas Poher Rasmussen takes great care in sharing the personal history of an Afghan refugee. The filmmaker uses the process of animation to protect the identity of his subject, while also bringing an added layer to the material, capturing the impact of trauma on memory and identity in the process,” stated Jury chair and Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge.

The special jury prize was awarded to “Belle.” Writer-director Mamoru Hosuda’s film chronicles the adventures of a 17-year-old high school student.

After a year-long delay due to the pandemic, the Animation Is Film festival returns this year for its fourth edition, taking place Oct. 22-24. The festival will be held, as it traditionally has been, at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood and will feature a competition lineup of the best animation films of the year, as well as other special events.

“If you look at the lineup, you’ll see that there are titles … that have played at Sundance and Cannes and Annecy, and the festival is an opportunity for everyone to see these films,” says Matt Kaszanek, director, Animation Is Film. “We’re really happy with the lineup we were able to put together this year in the strange times of 2021, so we’re really excited for the program and we hope everyone else is too.”

The festival kicks off with the North American premiere of the Netflix feature “The Summit of the Gods,...

Animation is Film announced the competition lineup and other special events for the fourth edition of the festival, which will take place from Oct. 22-24 at the Tcl Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. The lineup includes 12 feature films in competition as well as 20 programs overall including shorts.

The festival will open with the North American premiere of upcoming Netflix animated feature “The Summit of the Gods,” directed by Patrick Imbert and adapted from Jiro Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura’s manga series. Imbert will appear for a post-screening Q&a. The centerpiece film on Oct. 23 is the West Coast premiere of Gkids’ “Belle,” directed by Mamoru Hosada who will also appear for a Q&a. The West Coast premiere of Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” will close the festival.

Also among the competition features are the world premiere of the English dub of Yusuke Hirota’s “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” the North...

On Thursday, the Austin Film Festival unveiled its 2021 lineup, comprising 26 World, North American, and US Premieres, setting Oscar nominee Peter Hedges’ The Same Storm as its Opening Night Film.

The feature examining the tumult of the Covid-19 pandemic boasts a stacked cast, with Noma Dumezweni, Mary-Louise Parker, Sandra Oh, Elaine May, Raúl Castillo, Ato Blankson-Wood, Corey Michael Smith, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston and Alison Pill amongst its ensemble.

Other marquee titles to look out for at the 28th edition of the festival, taking place from October 21-28, include Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Mike Mills’ latest A24 pic C’mon C’mon, led by Joaquin Phoenix, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II, starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton and more, and Joachim Trier’s Neon festival favorite The Worst Person in the World.

Spencer King’s Dark Star Pictures title Time Now will make its World Premiere alongside...

The fourth edition of the Animation Is Film festival (Aif) returns in-person October 22-24 to the Tcl Chinese 6 in Hollywood, and will kick off opening night with the North American premiere of Netflix’s “The Summit of the Gods,” the breathtaking French 2D feature from director Patrick Imbert (“The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales”), who will do an in-person Q&a.

“The Summit of the Gods” (opening November 24 in select theaters and streaming November 30) is adapted from the popular manga and concerns a Japanese adventure photographer and mountain climber obsessed with finding a legendary climber obsessed with scaling Mount Everest.

Other highlights include the West Coast premieres of GKids’ “Belle” on October 23 and Neon’s award-winning “Flee” on October 24. “Belle” is the musical fantasy 2D reworking of “Beauty and the Beast” from Oscar-nominated anime master Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”), who will do an in-person Q&a. “Flee” (December 3) is the...

The strand features titles from Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

Features by Joanna Hogg, Radu Jude and Gaspar Noé are among those set to compete for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera award at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival (September 17-25).

The strand, for films of any kind of style or length, includes 13 features and five shorts, with two world premieres.

The selection includes several titles from this year’s Cannes film festival: Kirill Serebrennikov’s Competition title Petrov’s Flu; Kira Kovalenko’s Un Certain Regard winner Unclenching The Fists; Laura Wandel’s Playground (also Un Certain Regard); Gasper Noe’s Vortex, which...

The Annency International Animation Film Festival announced Saturday evening the winners of its major awards.

Flee, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s hand-drawn animation telling the true story of a man’s extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan, won top honors by nabbing the Annency Cristal for a feature film. Deadline’s Todd McCarthy said Rasmussen “puts you through it in a way that illustrates, instructs, makes you look inward and ask whether you’d have what it takes, if you could tough it out and survive in a cold, hostile world.”

Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will voice the lead roles in an English language version of the film, which will debut later this year, and the pair are also executive producers on the pic.

My Sunny Maad, the debut feature of Oscar-nominated director Michaela Pavlátová, won this year’s Jury Award. The film follows a young Czech woman...

On Saturday evening, after a week of onsite and virtual screenings, conferences, masterclasses and panels, the Annecy Animation Festival announced the winners of its major prizes, joining the already announced Special Prizes from the night before.

Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” continued its winning form from the previous evening – it won best original music from a feature – taking both the Cristal for a Feature Film, the festival’s top prize, and the Gan Foundation Award for distribution.

A World Cinema Grand Jury Award-winner at Sundance and best Nordic documentary winner at Göteborg, “Flee” was described by Variety’s Peter Debruge as a “sophisticated refugee story.” “Flee” is the true story of Amin, about to get married, who decides to share his hidden past, a secret he has been hiding for over 20 years which threatens to ruin the life he has built since. In the film Amin tells the story of...

Indie Sales has closed key international deals for “Calamity,” Rémi Chayé’s hand-drawn animated feature which won the Cristal Award at the Annecy Film Festival last year.

Chayé’s follow up to “Long Way North,” “Calamity” tells the story of the 12-year-old Martha Jane who must take charge of her siblings after her father is hurt in a serious accident while driving a large convoy to the West in search for a better life. Frustrated by the constraints of being a girl, Martha Jane decides to dress as a boy to better fulfil her duty to take care of her family and pursue her growing thirst for freedom and adventure outside of the constraints of the rigid convoy. One day, after being unfairly accused of theft, she runs away determined to prove her innocence.

Indie Sales, whose past director-driven animation credits include the Oscar-nominated “My Life as a Zucchini,” sold...

Boasting both Official Selection and Acid labels, Nora Martirosyan’s film spearheads a line-up that includes the new Rémi Chayé movie, plus the upcoming efforts by Bruno Dumont and Florence Miailhe. French international sales agent Indie Sales is about to spring into action at the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film Online (22-26 June) with a supersize line-up of 15 titles. Shining particularly bright in the showcase is Should the Wind Drop by Nora Martirosyan, which has been stamped with a double seal of quality in the guise of labels from both the Cannes 73 Official Selection and the Acid. Starring Grégoire Colin and Hayk Bakhryan, the feature debut by the French-Armenian filmmaker (who wrote the screenplay with novelist Emmanuelle Pagano) is set in the Caucasus in the present day. It revolves around Alain, an international auditor, who has arrived to appraise the airport of a small self-proclaimed republic in order.

Indie Sales, the Paris-based company which sold the Oscar-nominated “My Life as a Zucchini” around the world, has come on board Florence Miailhe’s “The Crossing,” a timely, hand-painted animated feature shedding light on children refugees.

Written by Miailhe, along with the popular children’s book author Marie Desplechin, “The Crossing” is a contemporary tale exploring the plight of hundreds of thousands of youths who live on the road or in precarious environments with or without their parents. As with “My Life as a Zucchini,” “The Crossing” revolves around children overcoming difficult situations, and addresses an adult audience.

The French company has acquired international sales to “The Crossing” and will start representing the project at Berlin’s European Film Market later this month. “The Crossing” will make the feature debut of Miailhe, who previously directed several critically acclaimed animated shorts, such as the Cesar-winning “A Summer Night Rendez Vous” and...

European animated films continue to tackle weighty subject matter with diverse works aimed at older and more mature audiences.

A number of celebrated titles last year impressed by tackling historical, political and cultural subject matter in original ways, among them Raúl de la Fuente and Damian Nenow’s European Film Award winner “Another Day of Life,” above, Denis Do’s “Funan,” which took the top prize in Annecy, and Nora Twomey’s “The Breadwinner,” which won a plethora of prizes around the globe.

This year the trend continues with new and upcoming projects that explore wide ranging subject matter, from such sobering themes as the plight of refugees, racism and war to lighter fare like surrealist cinema and quirky romance.

Norwegian director Mats Grorud tackles the politically charged topic of Palestinian refugees in “Wardi” (The Tower). The film follows an 11-year-old girl living with her family in a Beirut refugee...

1.Netflix

Netflix took Annecy. It held a presentation, its first ever at Annecy, an effective coming out to the world animation industry. You could here a pin drop as Melissa Cobb, the highly popular ex-DreamWorks Animation executive, now Netflix Evp, expounded on Netflix priorities on stage. The audience warmed to Chilean Fernanda Frick’s exposition of her new series, “Raising the Bar,” now in development at Netflix, and Andy Coyle’s explanation of the varying tones and palette of “Hilda.” But the presentation and Netflix’s presence at Annecy left a question in the air. Cobb’s introduction stressed the diversity of Netflix’s lineup – from children shows, -and working the talent. Beyond Cobb and Yaram, the Netflix panel at the presentation was made up just of talent. Netflix brought a 15-strong delegation. Most was talent as well. The production community fears that Netflix is going increasingly straight to talent,...

Embracing Hollywood’s animation grandees, France’s Annecy Intl. Animation Festival will screen exclusive first images of Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2.” It will also host a world premiere of an unfinished version of Sony Pictures Animation’s Adam Sandler-voiced “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” presented by director Genndy Tarkovsky, the Festival announced Monday in Paris unveiling its full 2018 line-up.

In feature terms, Annecy will open with Michel Ocelot’s Wild Bunch-sold “Dilili in Paris,” with the celebrated French director, whose “Kirikou and the Sorceress” brought down the flag on Europe’s arthouse animation build, attending Annecy to present the feature.

Special sneak peek screenings for “Wreck It Ralph 2” and “Hotel Transylvania 3” join director Dean DeBlois’ work-in-progress footage presentation of “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” from DreamWorks Animation, which will open and close Annecy with two titles from its shorts program: “Bird Karma” and “Bilby.

Council of Europe’s cinema fund to award €3,843,000.

Eurimages, the council of Europe’s fund for co-production, distribution and exhibition of European cinema, has announced it will support 13 films (including a documentary and an animation) for a combined €3,843,000.

The projects selected by the Eurimages board are:

Wicked Games (Austria, Germany, France) - Ulrich SeidlDouble Bind (Belgium, France) - Olivier Masset-DepassePinocchio (Italy, France) - Matteo Garrone (Italy)Memoirs From The Cell (Spain, France, Argentina, Uruguay) - Álvaro BrechnerWhere Are You, João Gilberto? (Switzerland, Germany, France) - Georges GachotAbout Endlessness (Sweden, Germany, France, Norway) - Roy AnderssonThe Crossing (France, Germany, Czech Republic) - Florence Miailhe Life Runs Over You (Italy, Iceland) - Paolo SassanelliWild Witch (Denmark, Hungary, Norway) - Kaspar MunkKings (France, Belgium) - Deniz Gamze ErgüvenVirgins (France, Israel, Belgium) - Keren Ben Rafael The Cellar (Slovakia, Russia, Czech Republic) - Igor VoloshinLady Winsley (France, Turkey, Belgium) - Hiner Saleem

Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio is a high profile film on...

Competition titles revealed; exclusive first footage to screen from Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and Disney’s Zootopia.

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 15-20) is to spotlight the contribution of women to animation and their growing presence in the medium.

This year’s Honorary Cristal will be awarded to French director Florence Miailhe, whose unusual technique has been called “film painting”. She was first at Annecy in 2000 with Au premier dimanche d’aout, which won the Cear for Best Short Film, and won a special mention at Cannes in 2006 for her short Conte de quartier.

Sticking with the female focus, there will be films about maternity and sexuality, the female imagination and a strand titled The Future Is Woman.

Canadian filmmaker Janet Perlman, who secured an Oscar nomination with The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin (1981), will also be the subject of a special focus.

This year’s festival, overseen by artistic...

Paris -- The Annecy International Animation Film Festival will blow out its 50th birthday candles this year with a different toon thanks to a colorful slate of all-star guests, including Jeffrey Katzenberg, Matt Groening and Ari Folman, plus several international film premieres and professional conferences, organizers confirmed Monday. The fest kicked off Monday.

Folman will head the Feature Film Jury, which will vote on competition titles from across the globe -- this year with a particularly Asian flare. Titles include Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Tarik Saleh's "Metropia," Dominique Montery's "Kerity la maison des contes," Liu Jian's "Piercing 1," Mamoru Hosoda's "Summer Wars," Munehisa Sakai's "One Piece Film: Strong World" and Jean-Christophe Roger's "Allez raconte!"

This year's official selection will showcase 213 films in competition including features, short films, TV movies, educational programming, commercials, music videos and student films.

Organizers have gathered more than 50 animated personalities to...