Jun 14, 2023

Annecy MIFA Featured Pitch 2023: 5 projects that caught our eye.

Another year is another exciting set of MIFA featured pitches in Annecy from filmmakers with dreams of making their personal and unique projects.

This year's 8 pitches feature grounded depictions of India in the 1960s, magical filters placed on Congolese culture, anthropomorphic clocks, and in between. Almost all of the diversity was found not only in the stories, but also in countries of origin such as Asia, Africa, Europe and North and South America.

Each pitch showed high potential through experimental ideas and techniques that audiences are increasingly craving. The room seemed entranced by each story shown, but here are 5 things that stood out to us.

Country: India

Director: Upamanyu Bhattacharyya

Producer: Arya Menon

Looking for: Compositor, broadcaster, distributor, producer, and co-producer.

Based in Ahmedabad, India in the 1960s, Heirlooms aim to take viewers through the intricacies of the Indian textile industry. Like the work of people in the industry, heirlooms find painful, emotional stories through the art of embroidery, stories told through threads. 1. Its principle forms the basis of the animation style of the film. Using frame-by-frame embroidery, the characters introduced to us through 2d computer animation are literally placed inside the fabric where they spend their lives

Most of the teaser shown during the pitch takes place outside the fabric where the world is dominated by sketch lines and colors. Realism is sacrificed for liveliness, creating a packed frame of bold colors that reflect the intensity of Indian loudness and narrative conflict. Director Upamanyu Bhattacharyya described the marriage in which both parties drift away in their life goals. One seeks comfort and the other expansion, eventually causing a collapse.

Country: Spain

Director: Marta Puig

Producers: David Matamoros, Ángel Hernandez

Looking for: Broadcasters, distributors, producers, and co-producers.

Marta Puig quickly mentioned that the day Ewan McGregor introduced me to my parents didn't actually feature the actor himself, but instead is directly inspired by marta's quest for motherhood and her journey through IVF. She is the mother of a 1-and-a-half-year-old girl who shares the fear of reaching 40 without achieving this goal and the heartwarming revelation that she has finally found a parent-child relationship that is worth raising a child (or worth giving her an orgasm).

While she was talking, a swirling sizzling reel of animation passed through our eyes, showing a soft pink and white color scheme. The animation is fundamental in such a way that each frame feels more personal and intimate to the story, as if it were drawn by Malta itself. The teaser smoothly transitioned Malta at different stages of this process, and every chapter felt like a diary entry, something that was only achievable with such an art style.

Country: Congo, United States, Japan

Directors: Yoshisaburo Sugii, Arsel Isom

Producers: Masao Maruyama, Cristiano Terry, Shin Oyamada, Eric Beckman

Looking for: Distributor, Producer, Co-Producer & Director

The pitch for Mfinda was delivered in unfortunate circumstances as the film's creators could not make it to Annecy. Instead, a more truncated presentation was made by producer Gkids producer Eric Beckman and filmmaker Don Hewitt, who worked on the English translation of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. This fact is important, as Mfinda was described as an afro-anime. From the heart of the Congolese-American creator, Patience Rekien, Mufinda follows 2 young Congolese girls trekking through the forest of gods, spirits and ancestors.

Set to see this expression of African culture through the lens of an anime, Lekien recruited Yoshisaburo Sugii (Astro Boy) and Arsel Isom (Star Wars: Vision) to direct the film with Masao Maruyama (Perfect Blue). From the stills shown, Mfinda looks a gorgeous odyssey through the magical realm. The frame is detailed and comfort with green leaves basking permanently in the background.

Country: France

Director: Julian Visaro

Producer: Claire Paoletti

Looking for: Broadcaster, agency, producer, and co-producer.

From Schooom's Oddysey director Julien Bisaro, the second pitch focused on the quest for parenthood was very different from the day Ewan McGregor introduced me to my parents. First, La Petit Cavallet, the protagonist of On the Run, is a male penguin, in native French. He comes across an echidna egg and sees it as an opportunity to nurture life in a way he never could. Cookie, a penguin, has lived his whole life tamed in the city of New Zealand. Through paternity, he learns to find freedom.

Producer Claire Paoletti was keen to focus on the theme of that freedom. She talked about the relationship between humans and animals, the morality of domestication, and the film's commentary on what humans look like for animals in a dominant world. What stood out from the short teaser shown was the soft, pastel-like visuals, as well as the lack of personification. Cookies and Echidna are not given more human-like features, nor do they communicate through any human language. Chirping and chirping will tell you everything you need.

Country: France

Director: Cécile McLorin Salvant, Lia Bertels

Producers: Emmanuel-Alain Raynal,Pierre Baussaron, John Carlin

Looking for: Broadcaster, distributor, producer, co-producer.

Of the 8 pitches shown, Ogresse had the most unique backstory. The idea for the film was revealed by the Grammy Award・winning jazz vocalist Cecil Mccloran Salvant. When playing on her piano, the lyrics appeared in the form of this story about a female ogre living in the forest and eating villagers from nearby settlements. The animation came to her mind when thinking about the best way to express this story and caused her to reach out to Leah Bertels.

Although some images were displayed, the world of Ogresse looks simple and fascinating. The stills were overwhelmingly colorful, boasting sparkling green forests and silky streams of water. They matched the effervescent macroline salvant. She walked the audience through the first act of the story and performed it almost like stage play or guided meditation. Her captivating tone conveyed her passion for this story and her excitement at realizing it through animation.