Gogol’s nose and accidental luxury: Eastern European animations at the upcoming online Annecy Film Festival

Six Eastern European animations have entered the official competition of the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival for this year’s edition.

The feature films shortlisted for the main 2020 competition include The Nose Or Conspiracy of Mavericks, a Gogol-inspired animation by Russian director Andrey Khrzhanovsky, Kill It And Leave This Town, by Polish animator Mariusz Willczynski, and Ginger’s Tale, by Russian director Konstantin Scherkin.

The Balkans and the Baltic countries take the spotlight in the festival’s Contrechamp competition, which showcases emerging work. The films selected in this category include The Old Man — The Movie by Estonian directors Mikk Mägi and Oskar Lehemaa, Accidental Luxuriance Of The Translucent Watery Rebus, by Croatian director Dalibor Baric, and My Favourite War, an animation by Latvian-Norwegian filmmaker Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen.

Every year, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, taking place on the French lakeside, is one of the most awaited gatherings of the global animation industry. Initially set to take place from 15 to 30 June in the French alpine town of Annecy, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival organisers have decided to cancel the physical event, and switch to a virtual alternative.

While not all the features in the competition will be screened online, the festival is hoping to make short extracts available to the public instead.