The animation, pride and diversity themes will be in the spotlight at Annecy Festival 2023, with four short film programmes available to festival goers. A programme coordinated by The Animation Showcase founder and LGBTQ+ in Animation co-founder Benoit Berthe Siward will provide a range of views on recent productions during the festival to be held between 11 and 17 June 2023.
“This theme has become a topical issue, especially for young filmmakers, many of whom tackle issues related to gender and diversity every year”, said Annecy Festival artistic director Marcel Jean.
Here is a glimpse of the events:
TRUE QUEER STORIES by Holly Murtha- How does it feel to be queer in this world? This programme is a showcase of real-life stories from the LGBTQ+ community. Ranging from new perspectives on love, relationships and desire, to an ode to family and community. From journeys of self-discovery to closeted, troubled lives, this section is a reminder of the diversity of lived experiences inside the queer community and the importance of representation.
Among the films:
- All Those Sensations in My Belly by Marko Djeska (Croatia, Portugal)
- Oneself Story by Géraldine Charpentier (Belgium)
HIDDEN QUEER DESIRES by Patricio Plaza- For so much time, queer desire has been forced to be lived with guilt, in the margins of society, hidden or unspoken. Times have changed but the marks of historical persecution are still a struggle for many queer identities.
Among the films:
- We Were a Sterile Bomb by Dotan Moreno (Israel)
- Adorable by Cheng-Hsu Chung (Taiwan, UK)
- Piteous Liaisons by Chloé Alliez and Violette Delvoye (Belgium, France)
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS by Jakub Spevák- This section of films is dedicated to the feeling of belonging – which for queer people often means creating a safe place, a refuge. Films explore the need to share, to be yourself, to love, to forgive… As queer people, do we have to keep pretending to fit in?
Among the films:
- Chado by Dominica Harrison (UK)
- Purpleboy by Alexandre Siqueira (Portugal, France, Belgium)
- In Nature by Marcel Barelli (Switzerland)
FREAKS & PROUD by Jakub Spevák- Queer individuals have often been labelled as freaks, monsters, mutants, even ghosts who haunt society. This section of films takes these often pejorative labels and deconstructs them. Films show “queer” in all its diversity and open their arms to the weirdness and strangeness.
Among the films:
- Slug Life by Sophie Koko Gate (UK)
- The Boob Fairy by Léahn Vivier-Chapas (France)
- Superbia by Luca Tóth (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia)
The Annecy Festival will also be awarding an Honorary Cristal to the British filmmaker Barry J.C. Purves, author of a seminal stop-motion piece and pioneer of embracing homosexual themes in animation. His most acclaimed short films will be shown together in a programme and the Screen Play author will be presenting a masterclass. Marcel Jean esteems that Achilles, which Purves made in 1995, was a major landmark in the history of homosexual representation in animation.
Furthermore, as is tradition at the festival, pride and diversity will be perceived in the various parts of its programme planning. For example, the WIP will include the feature film Eugene, written by Joëlle Oosterlinck and directed by Anaïs Caura. The film portrays the life of Eugene Falleni, a trans man accused of murdering his wife in Australia in the 1920s.
