The biggest week in the world of animation wrapped up Saturday as the 2025 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival drew to a close with what should have been a high-spirited awards ceremony in which “Arco” took home the Cristal for an animated feature. While there was lots of applause, hand shaking and celebrating by the night’s winners, there was also a great deal of reflection from many of the people who took the stage on the night.
Given the escalating violence in Gaza, Israel and Iran, the festival’s closing ceremony had a more somber feel to it than it normally would, addressed directly by feature jury member and Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi (“The Siren”) at the awards ceremony.
After saying she wished she could celebrate the great films she saw this week, she addressed something far more urgent:
”Something else has taken me away. Sometimes, being part of the cinema family, the animation family, is not enough to make the changes, the significant changes that need to be made. Sometimes we have to go beyond the films that we make. We have to become like the heroes and heroines of our films, become bigger than ourselves, become better people, and try to make changes differently in the real world.
There are quite a few conflicts ongoing. One of them is particularly monstrous. That is the ongoing genocide in Gaza. For one year, I worked for Fatma Hassouna. She was killed two months ago in an Israeli airstrike targeting her house with all her family. I had made a promise to her to go to Gaza to meet her once the war was over. I haven’t been able to keep that promise, but I’ll try to do something that would be meaningful, because we need to break this blockade and to stop this war.”
After reading the writings of a young Palestinian girl, she added, “I hope that it will make some change. And I hope to see a free Palestine soon. And a free Iran as well. Thank you.”
Later in the evening, Iranian filmmaker Shiva Sadegh Assadi (“Abzi”), on this year’s short film competition jury, read a poem in Persian by an author who was killed in the strikes against her country. She also read an English-language translation, which received significant applause from the Bonlieu crowd.
Annecy’s top winner, Ugo Bienveu’s debut feature “Arco” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month, screening as part of the Special Screenings section. Co-written with Félix de Givry, it’s produced by Natalie Portman, who also provides the lead English-language voice, alongside Sophie Mas and Félix de Givry for MountainA (Portman’s New York-based outfit) and Paris-based Remembers.
The film follows a boy from the distant future who crash-lands in 2075 after misusing a time-travel suit, forming a poignant bond with Iris, a lonely girl raised by a robot. Featuring warm and sleek 2D animation blended with a sci-fi aesthetic, the film explores friendship, loss and environmental themes through luminous, rainbow-hued visuals.
This year’s feature jury award went to Yasuhiro Aoki’s “ChaO,” a genre-blending debut produced by Studio 4°C, set in a future where humans and mer-people coexist. It follows Stefan, a shy office worker, whose life is upended when ChaO, a lively mermaid princess, suddenly proposes to him. “ChaO” features bold, hand-drawn animation and a unique mix of surreal humor, tender romance and fairy-tale whimsy.
Annecy’s feature competition also saw the Paul Grimault Award go to Momoko Seto’s “Dandelion’s Odyssey,” an experimental Cannes player.
The Gan Foundation Award for Distribution to “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake,” Catalonia’s first-ever stop-motion feature. Director Irene Iborra echoed Farsi’s earlier sentiments, “This award is dedicated to all the children in the middle of conflicts, and especially the Palestinian ones.”
The Audience Award went to “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” which will surely add to its already mounting awards season buzz and credentials. It’s worth pointing out that powerhouse distributor GKIDS has acquired North American rights to both “ChaO” and “Little Amélie,” two of four 2025 Annecy titles the company will distribute in the territory.
Seth and Pete Scriver’s colorful Canadian Sundance standout “Endless Cookie” took this year’s Contrechamp Grand Prix, the top honor for the film’s section dedicated to films featuring a unique or alternative vision, often showcasing bold storytelling, stylistic innovation, or emerging voices in animation.
A “personal family scrapbook of a film,” according to Carlos Aguilar’s Variety review at Sundance, “Endless Cookie” sees the Scriver brothers dive into absurdist territory with a surreal, offbeat tale that plays like a stoner parable for late-stage capitalism. Their crudely charming animation style belies sharp social commentary, as a group of misfits chase after a never-ending dessert.
This year’s Contrachamp jury award went to Bo-Sol Kim’s Korean feature “The Square,” also playing at Tribeca this week. A hand-drawn feature about a Swiss diplomat engaged in a clandestine relationship in Pyongyang, it’s produced by the Korean Academy of Film Arts.
“The Night Boots,” produced by Am Stram Gram, won this year’s Cristal for a short film. The latest from celebrated stop-motion specialist Pierre-Luc Granjon (“Four Seasons in the Life of Léon”) – who co-directed the 2023 Annecy-playing feature “The Inventor” – tells the story of a young boy who sneaks out in the middle of the night and is escorted by a strange creature into the depths of the woods to meet their nocturnal inhabitants.
The jury award for a short went to Michael Granberry’s American black and white stop-motion film “Les Bêtes.” After accepting the prize, Granberry emphasized the role that animation can play during dark days: “This art form attracts people who carry a very unique, beautiful fire in them that shines a light that the world desperately, desperately needs right now. Do not be afraid of the dark, the sickness of hate, because we are the cure.”
Alexeïeff–Parker Award to Rosana Urbes’ Brazilian multi-technique short “Sappho”; the Off-Limits Award to Ryo Orikasa’s Japanese short “The Graffiti”; the Jean-Luc Xiberras first film award to Janneke Swinkels and Tim Frijsinger’s “Zwermen”; and the Audience Award to Granjon’s “The Night Boots.”
From the festival’s TV lineup, Shaddy Safadi’s “Christo The Civilized Barbarian: Hunting Party,” produced by One Pixel Brush in the U.S, walked off with the top Cristal award for a TV production. The jury picked Elena Walf’s “Volles Nest” from the German show “Lena’s Farm” for the series award and David Lowery’s “An Almost Christmas Story” for best TV special. The Audience prize went to Théo Grosjean and Mothy Richard’s “Major Decision” episode of “Freaked Out,” produced by Autour de Minuit, FKLG and Panique!
Lola Lefèvre’s music video for Naive New Beaters and Star Feminine Band’s “Ye Kou Si Kuo” won the Cristal for a commissioned film, with the jury award going to Suresh Eriyat’s fluffy musical short “Desi Oon,” an ecological tale about connection between Deccani wool, the land and its people.
This year’s Graduation Film Cristal went to ENSAD student Léna Martinez’s “Zootrope”; the jury award to La Poudrière alum Martin Bonnin’s “Between the Gaps”; and the Lotte Reiniger Award to Tama Art University’s Masataka Kihara for “Q.”
Ondřej Moravec and Victoria Lopukhina won the festival’s Cristal for a VR work for their piece “Fragile Home.”
Special Prizes
On Friday evening, several special prizes were distributed. Pooya Afzali’s “At Night” won the France TV award for a short film. “Dollhouse Elephant” composer Sebastian Hilli scooped the Sacem Award for soundtrack in a short film, while Arnaud Toulon scored the feature version of the prize for his work on “Arco.” The Pablo Pico Distinction for a feature soundtrack went to Jean L’Appeau’s score in “Death Does Not Exist.” The Canal+ Junior Jury Award prized Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears’ “Forever Green.” Francis Desharnais’ “The Great Annual Party of the Creatures of the Moon” took the young audience award, while “The Night Boots” earned a third honorific in the form of the André Martin award for a French short.
In addition to winning the Cristal, “Fragile Home” also won the Festivals Connexion award for a VR work. Communication University of China students Jiali Tan and Haoyuan Zhu merited the Xppen Award for a graduation film with “Won’t Be Here.” Granberry scooped the Vimeo Staff Pick Award for a short in the Off-Limits section for “Les Bêtes,” one of two prizes for the film. Justice Rutikara’s Canadia feature “Ibuka, Justice” won the City of Annecy Award and Niko Radas’s Croatian short was given a City of Annecy jury special distinction.
A full list of this year’s winners can be found below.
FEATURE FILMS
Cristal for a Feature Film
“Arco,” (Ugo Bienvenu, France)
Jury Award
“ChaO,” (Yasuhiro Aoki, Japan)
Paul Grimault Award
“Dandelion’s Odyssey,” (Momoko Seto, France, Belgium)
Gan Foundation Award for Distribution
“Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake,” (Irene Iborra Rizo, Spain, France, Belgium, Chile, Switzerland)
Audience Award
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” (Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, France)
CONTRECHAMP FEATURES
Grand Prix
“Endless Cookie,” (Seth Scriver, Pete Scriver, Canada)
Jury Award
“The Square,” (Bo-Sol Kim, South Korea)
SHORT FILMS
Cristal for a Short Film
“The Night Boots,” (Pierre-Luc Granjon, France)
Jury Award
“Les Bêtes,” (Michael Granberry, U.S.)
Alexeïeff – Parker Award
“Sappho,” (Rosana Urbes, Brazil)
Off-Limits Award
“The Graffiti,” (Ryo Orikasa, Japan)
Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for a First Film
“Zwermen,” (Janneke Swinkels, Tim Frijsinger, Netherlands, Belgium)
Audience Award
“The Night Boots,” (Pierre-Luc Granjon, France)
TV AWARDS
Cristal for a TV Production
“Christo The Civilized Barbarian “Hunting Party”,” (Shaddy Safadi, U.S.)
Jury Award for a TV Series
“Christo The Civilized Barbarian “Hunting Party”,” (Shaddy Safadi, U.S.)
Jury Award for a TV Special
“An Almost Christmas Story,” (David Lowery, U.S.)
Audience Award
“Freaked Out “Major Decision”,” (Théo Grosjean, Mothy Richard, Belgium, France)
COMMISSIONED FILMS
Cristal for a Commissioned Film
“Naive New Beaters, Star Feminine Band “Ye Kou Si Kuo”,” (Lola Lefèvre, France)
Jury Award for a Commissioned Film
“Desi Oon,” (Suresh Eriyat, India)
GRADUATION FILMS
Cristal for a Graduation Film
“Zootrope,” (Léna Martinez, France)
Jury Award
“Between the Gaps,” (Martin Bonnin, France)
Lotte Reiniger Award
“Q,” (Masataka Kihara, Japan)
VR WORKS
Cristal for the Best VR Work
“Fragile Home,” (Ondřej Moravec, Victoria Lopukhina, Czech Republic)
SPECIAL PRIZES
France TV Award for a Short Film
“At Night,” (Pooya Afzali, Iran)
SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack in a Short Film
“Dollhouse Elephant,” (Sebastian Hilli, Finland)
SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack in a Feature Film
“Arco,” (Arnaud Toulon, France)
Pablo Pico Distinction, SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack in a Feature Film
“Death Does Not Exist,” (Jean L’Appeau, Canada, France)
Canal+ Junior Jury Award
“Forevergreen,” (Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears, U.S.)
Young Audience Award
“The Great Annual Party of the Creatures of the Moon,” (Francis Desharnais, Canada)
André Martin Award for a French Short Film
“The Night Boots,” (Pierre-Luc Granjon, France)
Festivals Connexion Award for a VR Work
“Fragile Home,” (Ondřej Moravec, Victoria Lopukhina, Czech Republic)
XPPen Award for a Graduation Film
“Won’t Be Here,” (Jiali Tan, Haoyuan Zhu, China)
Vimeo Staff Pick Award for a Short Film in the Official and Off-Limits Categories
“Les Bêtes,” (Michael Granberry, U.S.)
City of Annecy Award
“Ibuka, Justice,” (Justice Rutikara, Canada)
City of Annecy Jury Special Distinction Award
“Psychonauts,” (Niko Radas, Croatia)
variety.com
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