May 31, 2019

Japan is the guest country at the 43rd Annecy International Animation Festival, and Yoshimi Itazu's directorial debut mid-lenght film Pigtails has been selected to be part of the official program entitled, Tribute to Japanese Animation: New Motion - Directors. Established in 1960, the Annecy Animation Film Festival is the world's oldest and most prestigious animation film festival. This year's edition will take place in Annecy, France from June 10 to 15, 2019.

Watch Pigtails trailer here.

"If I had to name one country with a true culture of animation, it would definitely be Japan." A seemingly obvious declaration made by French director Georges Lacroix in 1999, the year when the Annecy Festival celebrated Japanese animation for the very first time. Twenty years later the Festival pays homage to this truly singular cinematographic style through both a retrospective and a look to the future to reveal the talent of the upcoming generation of anime creators.

The New Motion - Directors program showcases a group of promising artists who have been dubbed as 'the next of Japanese animation.' The lineup includes Yoshimi Itazu's Pigtails, Hiroko Utsumi's Banana Fish, Hiroshi Kobayashi's Hisone & Masotan, and Kiyotaka Oshiyama's Space Dandy.

Screening schedule
Date: June 12, 2019 (Wed)
Time: 14:30
Place: Pathé 3

Date: June 15, 2019 (Sat)
Time: 18:30
Place: Pathé 4

Annecy 2019 official website:
https://www.annecy.org/home/

© 2015 Machiko Kyo/SHUEISHA, ITSV