China is set to be guest country for Annecy 2017.
The tribute to Chinese animation will be developed around a big exhibition presented at the Château d’Annecy, musée lacs et montagnes, where material from classic films from the Shanghai studio will pave the way for a number of installations by artists/filmmakers working at the frontiers of contemporary art and animation such as Sun Xun, Haiyang Wang, Wu Chao and Weilun Xia.
In addition to this exhibition, there will be a retrospective of a dozen programmes, including Princess Iron Fan (1941), the feature by brothers Laiming and Guchan Wan, three programmes of historical short films, a retrospective of Sun Xun, a programme of short films from contemporary artists, a retrospective of the work of Xu An and Xi Chen and the best shorts from Chinese schools.
“This exceptional collaboration between the Château d’Annecy and the Festival will give a unique and original vision of Chinese animation” explained Festival Artistic Director, Marcel Jean. “Our project is to offer the biggest overview of the past as well as the present of Chinese animation, by presenting as many historical works as films made by the new generation of independent filmmakers. We would like to talk about the industry and its rapid development, and also make more singular voices heard.“
The Artistic Director adds that “China is a great country, almost a continent and its animation is rich and varied.
In order to offer the Annecy public the best from this cinema, we have been working with European experts like Marie-Claire Kuo Quiquemelle and the director of the Holland Animation Film Festival, Gerben Schermer, not to mention the expertise of Lucie Cabanes and Maurice Corbet, from the Château d’Annecy.”
