Annecy 2025 – the sum-up!
L to R: Taiah Hay, Holly Cheung, Myself, Max Thomas, Chloe Fan, Lucy Easthope, and Tabitha James
Paper planes, Captain’s, Le Banana and more! Six of my friends and I jetted off to Annecy Festival this summer for the first time, and it certainly did not disappoint. Whilst I could likely go on and on about my time there, I’ve narrowed down a few key takeaways below (some potentially more insightful than others…).
Please note: identities of various people I met will be kept anonymous for their privacy.
Women In Animation World Summit
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of my trip, WIA’s day of events at the MIFA featured a variety of voices across the Animation industry – from Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe) to Maïlys Vallade (Little Amelie). Not only was the insight into these films invaluable, but as a woman myself it was incredibly inspiring to learn about how these speakers made their mark on the industry. With creative subjects in the UK tending to be more popular with girls than boys in school, it’s easy to forget that there is, indeed, a sexism issue in this industry just as there is in others. These panels really brought this fact to my mind; not because these women had been unsuccessful, but because they had been successful despite everything.
After the events for the day had finished, WIA partnered with Passion Pictures to host a cocktail party on the balcony that overlooks the gardens. The Imperial Palace – home of the MIFA – is this breathtaking old building, stark white against the greens and blues of the Alps, and I felt like a member of high society drinking cocktails there! With drinks flowing and nibbles gliding around on platters, I had the opportunity to speak to many lovely, genuine people who worked in all areas of animation.
Absolutely an unmissable day – I intend to return next year!
For My Inner Child: Cartoon Network’s Events
With 2025 being Cartoon Network’s 25 year anniversary, the studio’s presence was strong throughout the festival. Brutal as they are, I managed to come out of the Annecy ticket war with tickets to both of their major panels.
The first panel – Creating Creativity: Celebrating 25 Years of Cartoon Network Studios – focused largely on the studio’s most successful shows and how they came to be. As such, the panel was made up of who many current animation students would consider to be ‘the greats’: Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory), Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls), Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time), Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), JG Quintel (Regular Show), and Adam Muto (Fionna and Cake).
Of everything discussed, I had one main takeaway – all these big names started as storyboarders! Could anybody likely find that information with a quick google? Yes, I’d imagine so. I suppose it just never crossed my path. Now knowing this, it makes perfect sense. Another nugget of information they shared was that a lot of them used to be classmates, highlighting the importance of building your network from a young age. Your peers at university might just be the people you end up working alongside many years down the line!
The other panel I attended featured Warner Bros Animation and Hanna Barbera Studios alongside Cartoon Network. This studio spotlight looked at current projects, and, most excitingly, showcased a few sneak peaks of work soon to come! Ben Bocquelet, creator of The Amazing World Of Gumball, discussed the series’ reboot: The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball. He even shared a few clips and production assets, which were all met with a wave of cheers from the enrapt crowd. We were also lucky enough to be shown the opening to Fionna and Cake season 2, which hadn’t yet been released publicly – what an honour! After the event, I went away and researched the studio who made it as I was so impressed. It’s publicly available now: go and check it out!
Raclettes, School Rivals, and Picnics
Before I get to the final section – which is worth sticking around for – I have a few tales to share, none of which deserve their own section but all of which deserve to be written down.
Free Raclettes
Annecy, I learnt, is famous for its raclettes. Raclette is a type of cheese, but in this context, it is in fact the most delicious, moreish, salivating toasted sandwich that has ever blessed my lips. The key to this is to take the full wheel of raclette cheese, heat the top, and the to scrape this hot, gooey cheese into a baguette alongside other fillings. I’m not a big cheese fan myself, and yet it was the best thing I ate during my time there.
My Raclette!
The ‘normal’ one had ham. I got the vegetarian one, which had lettuce, tomatoes, and gherkins.
Free raclettes, then: how did that come to be? Düsseldorf-based animation company Soybloq hosted a small invite-only social event in Annecy’s old town at which they gave them all out to us for free! I couldn’t believe my luck. The likelihood of me trying it without being given a free one was slim, but having been introduced to it, it became a staple of the Annecy diet. Good business for the food stall, I’m sure!
School Rivals
Having met a true social butterfly composer at the WIA cocktail party, we were whisked away by him to Captain’s to meet an old-school animator who worked on Tarzan and Who Framed Roger Rabbit amongst other things – talk about impressive. Shortly after meeting, this animator and I connected the dots and figured out that not only had we grown up in the same area, but we had actually attended two rival schools! What a coincidence. He quickly became a friendly face, and I was happy to run into him multiple times after that initial meeting. Perhaps the tie between the two schools really does go deeper!
The Line’s Picnic
British animation studio The Line hosted one of Annecy’s famous picnics in the European Gardens: a lovely sentiment. However, it was quickly evident that the event was largely made up of hundreds of students all swarming the one The Line staff member like bees to honey. Of course, I attended as a student too, so I do understand! But I certainly felt bad for her, standing in the middle of a bustle crowd in the heat. In fact, I’m fairly confident I spotted a crowd of other staff members standing in a circle just on the outskirts, all wisely with their lanyards flipped to hide their company name. Maybe I was imagining things, but if they were, I can’t say I blamed them!
The Grand Finale: Passion Pictures’ Party
Passion Pictures’ party can be easily summarised in one word: luxurious. This is likely my naivety talking, but I didn’t think there was quite so much money in animation!
Despite its magnificence, the view in this photo was only the beginning.
Picture suited waiters weaving through the crowds with platters of all sorts of foods, for all sorts of diets, all being offered for whenever you may want a nibble. The jetty was used for speedboats, which chauffered important guests from hotels all around the lake directly to the party. As the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon came out, coloured lights lit up the lawn in all sorts of hues. Finally, at the end of the night, we were delivered back to Annecy’s centre by a sleek six-seater taxi, complete with white-gloved driver, neck pillows, individual water bottles and privacy screen.
We were lucky enough to be invited by a Passion Pictures producer at the WIA cocktail party – a very successful event for me, it would seem – and although we knew it was a business party, neither myself nor my friends were quite prepared enough. I felt very underdressed! But the night was without a doubt the best one of the whole trip. Everybody was a delight to talk to, and it was very cool to talk to staff members from big companies such as Aardman and Sun & Moon.
Here’s hoping that one day I can return as a senior producer. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to some students then, in the same way that people allowed us some time to talk to them!
Final Thoughts
What an experience. With this being the first film festival that i’ve been able to attend, it was a bit like getting chucked in the deep end. However, I did learn how to swim. Next year I hope to return, with all of Annecy’s street-smarts under my belt to make my next trip as worthwhile as possible!
Au revoir!
