British filmmaker Joanna Quinn paid tribute to the host of Gaza Haneen Koraz when she received the honorary crystal from the Annecy international animated film festival during her opening ceremony on Sunday evening.
The winning Bafta and three times Canterbury tales And Art affairs The director nominated at the Oscars praised Koraz’s work in the Gaza Strip at the Lance iron of animation workshops managed by women for children.
“One day, she will stay here, holding one, index, index,” she continued, referring to her crystal price. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if children could come here and watch their films.”
Quinn’s spoke in the midst of growing international criticisms of the Israeli military campaign on Palestinian territory – aimed at destroying the Islamist Islamist group of Hamas in response to its attacks of October 7, 2023 and the recovery of Israeli hostages – which left more than 54,000 dead and the population away from famine.
Speaking at the deadline later during the opening evening, Quinn revealed that she had just launched an initiative entitled “To Gaza, With Love: A Global Anijam”, inviting animators and artists from around the world to create animated messages and animated support from 10 to 30 seconds to the Palestinian people.
The contributions will be collected on an online interactive map, which Quinn hopes the first via Livestream in August with the works, then animation festivals on tour in the world.
The Sunday evening ceremony also recalled that the artist and photojournalist of Gaza, Fatima Hassouna, due to the presence of the Iranian-French director, Sepideh Farsi, in the main jury of the film during the composer Pablo Pico (Sirocco and the Wind Kingdom) and György Ráduly, director of film archives at the National Film Institute Hungary
Following the animated function The sirenWho opened the Berlinale in 2023, Farsi turned to a documentary to capture Hassouna’s life in his film Put your soul on your hand and walk. The film recently played in acid programming in Cannes, after being announced for the parallel section only 24 hours before the young woman was killed on an Israeli air strike at home.
On a much lighter note, Quinn recalled his first trip to Annecy in 1987 with shorts Evening. The work that presented its signature figure, Welsh Housewife Beryl, during a trip to see a male stripper, won the special jury prize.
“I remember so well in 1987. My film was at the end of the festival. I spent the whole festival watching people have fun through misty windows, thinking about how can I enter? Anyway, I’m now, ”she recalls.
Quinn also mentioned his life partner, producer and writer Les Mills.
“Animation is a team effort, so I want to say a big thank you to Les, my partner because we are a team,” she said.
Since 1987, Quinn has continued to accelerate with subsequent credits, including the 30 -minute film, BAFTA winner and nominated at the Oscars Famous fred (1997/98), adapted from the book by Posy Simmonds on a kitten which becomes a famous singer; Dreams and desires: familywho took over Beryl and won the Special Prize for the Annecy jury, and Oscar and nominated nominated at BAFTA Art affairs, Also putting Beryl featured.
Commenting on the short compilation of extracts from her films that played before she received her price, Quinn said with regret: “The animation is so sad – it was all my life and it only took, what? A minute? And it takes so long.”
Breaking with tradition, Annecy has opened its doors with five animated shorts this year rather than a single feature film this year.
The duo of director nominated for Canadian Oscars Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, who work under the banner of Clyde Henry Productions, opened the program with charming rags with fable wealth The girl who cried pearls.
The couple revealed that they had finished the film only before revealing it in Annecy.
“We have already been here and it’s always a great time, but we never had the joy of showing you a first for a film, which we finished on Monday, six days ago,” said Szczerbowski.
Other titles in programming include 9 million colorsAn underwater story of unexpected friendship between a predatory shrimp and a vulnerable blind fish, by the Czech director Bára Anna Stejskalová; Shinya Ohira Star Wars: visions – “Black”From the Japanese anime studio David Production, produced by Lucasfilm for Disney +, and the French directors Marjorie Caup and Olivier Héraud Carcassonne-Acapulco About a flight that takes an absurd turn.
The Bulgarian director nominated at the Oscars Theodore Ushev, who won the best short price of Annecy in 2020 for HE Pain physicsalso returned with a timely political allegory Life with an idiotAdapted from a collection of news written by the dissident Soviet writer Victor Erofeyev.
“If you follow a fool, the luck that you will become a fool is very high; if you admire an idiot, your risk of becoming an idiot is very high,” said Ushev.
He then apologized to the artistic director of the festival, Marcel Jean, before declaring “F ** K Poutine, F ** K Trump and F ** K Netanyahu” with the public in the great capacity of the festival theater which broke out in applause.
Annecy enters his stride on Monday with previews of Marvel Animation Wakanda’s eyes And Sony Pictures Animation Goat as well as Andy Serkis’ world premiere Animal farm and contest projections for Olivia and the invisible earthquake,, Dandelion’s Odyssey,, ARCO,, Little Amélie and the character of the rain And Magnificent life.
