Founded in 1960, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival was originally held every two years before becoming an annual event in 1997. Over the decades, it has become one of the world’s leading animated film events. Each year, the awards are presented in a variety of short and feature film categories. Among the short films selected to compete in the 2026 edition, which will be held from June 21 to 27, is that of Catherine Lepage Ultra strong (2026).
NFB productions and co-productions have been common in Annecy for a long time. Since 1960, more than 300 of them have appeared in the program, winning more than 60 awards, with 25 selections and four awards since 2020 alone. Surprisingly, no edition of the festival has been held without at least one film produced or co-produced by the NFB.
Here’s a look back at some of the highlights of the Federation’s seven decades of presence in Annecy.
Top award winners
The Cristal Short Film, known as Annecy Cristal from 2003 to 2012 and, previously, Grand Prize for Best Short Film, is the festival’s highest distinction. To date, nine NFB films have received this honor.
In 2020, the Crystal went to Theodore Ushev for The physics of pain (2019), a moving portrait of a Bulgarian immigrant caught between childhood memories of his homeland and his adult life in Canada. A reflection on rootlessness and melancholy, the film also received the FIPRESCI (Fédération internationale de la presse cinématographique) award. Ushev, an Annecy regular, is no stranger to recognition at the festival: his Blind Vaysha (2016) won both the Jury Prize and the Junior Jury Prize that year, while Gloria Victoria (2012) received the FIPRESCI Prize at the 37th edition of the festival.
The physics of pain, Theodore Ushev, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Memory gaps
In 2016, Franck Dion won the Cristal for The head disappears (2016), after Chris Landreth’s victory for Subconscious password (2013) three years earlier. His films may be radically different in style and tone, but they both address the same theme: memory. Dion’s work focuses on the fading memories of an elderly woman living with dementia, while Landreth’s protagonist struggles with an awkward slip. If the momentary blank space in Subconscious password is the pretext for a playful game through the unconscious, the waning memories of Jacqueline, heroine of The head disappearsThey form the basis of a tender and poetic meditation on irreversible loss.
Subconscious password, Chris Landreth, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
women’s cinema
Women filmmakers also occupy an important place in the history of Annecy. Four have received the festival’s highest distinction: Regina Pessoa for Tragic story with a happy ending (2005), a story about difference and self-affirmation; Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis by when it dawns (1999), which follows Ruby, a piglet who seeks peace of mind after witnessing a tragedy; and Caroline Leaf for two sisters (1991), where the arrival of a stranger disrupts the orderly routine of a pair of brothers.
when it dawns, Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Pessoa would return to Annecy more than a decade later with Uncle Thomas: Accounting for days (2019), which won both the Jury Prize and the Best Original Score Award. when it dawns received some 40 awards internationally, including the Palme d’Or for Short Film at Cannes, while two sisters It won nine more awards in Canada and abroad.
two sisters , carolina leaf, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Artists from abroad
The NFB animation studios have welcomed numerous international filmmakers over the years. Among them are Ishu Patel, originally from India, and Co Hoedeman, born in the Netherlands. Patel won the Grand Prix of Afterlife (1978), an experimental work on death and dying. Hoedeman received the same distinction for The sand castle (1977), a children’s film about a small sand figure who, helped by his friends, builds a castle to protect himself from the wind.
Afterlife, ishu patel, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Afterlife It was a great critical success and received nearly a dozen international awards. The sand castleIn turn, it won more than 20 awards, including the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
A prolific period
The 2010s were especially successful for NFB productions and co-productions, with 34 selections and 15 awards. The 1990s and 2000s were equally strong, with 45 selections and 20 awards. These years saw many notable works from talented animators.
Notable titles include Fugitive (2009) by Cordell Barker (Special Jury Prize); Luisa (2003) by Anita Lebeau (Canal J Junior Short Film Jury Prize); ryan (2004) by Chris Landreth (Special Jury Prize), which also won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film; The boy who saw the iceberg (2000) by Paul Driessen (Special Jury Prize and FIPRESCI Prize); the hat (1999) by Michèle Cournoyer (FIPRESCI Special Mention); bob’s birthday (1993) by Alison Snowden and David Fine (Short Film Award), also winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film; and Ex-child (1994) by Jacques Drouin (UNICEF Short Film Award).
the hat, Michelle Cournoyer, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
The first years
Although the festival only had five editions in the 1980s (when it was still held every two years), NFB productions and co-productions received 20 selections and three awards, including the Special Jury Prize for Beginning (1980) by Clorinda Warny, Suzanne Gervais and Lina Gagnon.
Beginning, Clorinda Warny, Susana Gervais & Lina Gagnon, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
The 1970s had been even more productive, with 32 selections and eight awards in the five editions of that decade. Noteworthy titles include This is your museum talking (1979) by Lynn Smith (Second Special Jury Prize); The metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (1977) by Caroline Leaf (International Critics Award); Evolution (1971) by Michael Mills (Children’s Film Award), also nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film; and Synchromy (1971) by Norman McLaren (Jury Distinction).
Evolution, Michael Mills, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Finally, in the 1960s there were 12 Federation selections and one award: the Special Jury Prize for Alphabet (1966) by Eliot Noyes, Jr.
Alphabet, Eliot Noyes, Jr., provided by the National Film Board of Canada
I encourage you to watch or revisit the short films featured in this article.
To discover more award-winning films, visit our channel dedicated to the festival by clicking here.