Annecy International Animated Film Festival, France

(Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy)

Worldwide premiere of Despicable Me 3

Something you probably don’t know (and even many friends don’t know) about me is that I love films. I am crazy about them. I am obsessed with them. But not just watching them, I enjoy every single aspect of film and tv. I watch all films till the end of the credits. I used to memorise all the credits of my favourite tv shows. I’ve been a user of IMDb (the Internet Movie Database) since its existence I was heartbroken when they took all the forums off IMDb. When I was 15 years old I decided I wanted to become a director. It is still my dream today to become one although I’m still not really sure how to make that happen so… in my 20s I decided if I couldn’t become a director, I could be an actress instead. I took some acting lessons, got myself an agent and went to many many auditions (which were the most nerve wracking but also the most fun things). I was in a TV commercial for McDonalds and a full page magazine ad for Mazda in Japan and I got to go into the private area of Fox Studios Australia…. It wasn’t really a viable career but I had fun while it lasted! And maybe that’s why – despite being a ‘quite, reserved, shy, introverted’ person as many people think I am – I am totally comfortable in front of and behind the camera!

During my high school and university years I interned at TV studios, film production and post production studios, advertising agencies, I even did a uni project where I got to visit Animal Logic – the post production and visual effects company behind films such as Babe, The Matrix, Moulin Rouge, The Lord of the Rings films and the Lego movies. I went to as many live tapings of Australian TV shows I could get on. I was and still am fascinated by the whole process of film making and TV production.

When I came to France it was my dream to see the birthplace of my other love, photography and I visited every museum or historical place I could that was related to photography. When I was through with that I thought back to my first love, film… and in 2013 realised my longtime dream of attending the Cannes Film Festival! Although I didn’t get to go to many events or see many films or celebrities I still loved the buzz and atmosphere.. it was one of the most exciting things I ever did in my life.. so what could top that? and where else in France should a film lover go?

The Annecy International Animated Film Festival of course!

I’m getting a huge buzz just writing this blogpost as all these emotions come flooding back… Amazingly it had never occurred to me to go earlier but when I realised I probably wouldn’t be living in France/Europe for much longer it was now or never. But loving films and animation weren’t the only reasons I wanted to go. I wanted to go mainly because they would be screening the worldwide premiere of “Despicable Me 3“! For those that don’t know, it’s part of the Minions trilogy.. or quadrilogy? Tetralogy? (depending on how you count the films). And if that’s not enough, the director Pierre Coffin (pronounced co-fun) would be there! When I found out that he was half French-half Indonesian and he does the voices of some of the Minions himself (including talking in that made-up language, some of which is actually Bahasa Indonesian) I loved him even more and I just had to meet this guy! The Minions films also have a personal significance to me as it was one of the first films my husband and I watched when we first started dating, and they have personal meaning to us, and my nickname for hubby is even Gru! (unfortunately Gru couldn’t come with me on this trip)…

(I did have a long sleeve turtle neck fleecy yellow top as part of my Minions costume but I couldn’t wear it since it was boiling hot in Annecy in June).

OK, if all that wasn’t enough, the festival would be held (as it is every year) in Annecy, quite possibly my most favourite town in France! (and which also holds special significance and memories for me).

and lastly, I generally like to do things and go places before they become too well-known and popular (and touristy and overpriced). Many people have been to Comic Con or Cannes but I didn’t know of a single friend, or any major travel blogger (who writes in English) who had been…

So with that in mind, I made it my mission to 1) get to this festival no matter what, 2) meet my idol Pierre Coffin and 3) get tickets to the premiere screening of Despicable Me 3!

Oh, and I decided to turn up dressed up as one of the Minions because that’s what you do at an animation festival, right? Er…More about that later…

Annecy International Animated Film Festival (Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy)

First things first, Annecy is pronounced Anne-sea. The e in the middle is not pronounced. Although Annecy is a tiny (but spectacular) lakeside town of only about 50,000 inhabitants, it holds the world’s oldest and largest animation film festival. Why did it take me so long to get there? Who knows? Like many things, I guess it’s not that well-known outside France or Europe yet. It has been running since 1960 and became an annual event in 1998. It is basically like the Cannes Film Festival, but only for animated films.

Why is the festival held in Annecy? Well that I don’t know but I do know that a lot of important, interesting international artistic festivals are held in small towns in France (such as the Rencontres International Photography Festival in Arles (100,000 visitors each year), the International Comic Book festival in Angoulême (200,000 visitors each year) and of course the International Film Festival in Cannes (45,000 visitors each year)).

For those that don’t know, both photography and cinematography were invented in France. Yep, that’s right. Two of my favourite things both invented in the same country that I ended up living in. Not only that, France also has a huge part to play in the history and development of animation techniques. In fact, animation was developed before cinematography, some 30-50 years earlier…

The categories for this festival for selection are: Feature films, Short films, Films produced for television and advertising, Student films, Films made for the internet (since 2002). There are also talks, meet and greet and signings, exhibitions, project pitches…

Although it is somewhat similar to the Cannes Film Festival, it’s much smaller (10,000 vs 45,000 attendees) and less snobby and hoity toity shall we say. I felt much more at ease here and the crowd was a lot younger (with many more film students) and more casually dressed. The strange thing was though, noone was in costume! Yes, noone!

I was the ONLY person in the whole town in costume! 😀

I was assuming it’d be like Comic Con where everyone (or at least half the people) gets dressed up but nope. I felt a bit silly but everyone smiled at me which meant they appreciated my effort and I couldn’t contain my happiness so I didn’t really care if I looked silly!

Also unlike Cannes where it’s near impossible to actually see anything without accreditation, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, ‘normal’ people actually have a chance to get tickets to really cool events like screenings and  masterclasses. The website really clearly explains when the ticket box office opens and how long you have to buy them and be seated, and how much tickets cost (they very reasonably priced!) There are also a bunch of events you can attend for free! (Keep in mind though, that this festival is not as international as Cannes and therefore many talks would be in French).

Believe me, if you are a huge fan of films but especially animated films and love film festivals, this Annecy International Animated Film Festival, is all your dreams come true, this is THE place to be…especially if you were as lucky as I was to get a ticket to the worldwide premiere screening of Despicable Me 3!

What I love about this festival is it allows you to discover a whole heap of fantastic non-mainstream, non-Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks animated films from all around the world, many you’d normally never hear about. I didn’t stay long at the festival due to my limited schedule but I would have been in heaven if I could have stayed the whole week and checked out all the films and attended the activities…

In 2016  My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de Courgette) won an award and in 2017 Loving Vincent won an award. Both use different animation techniques and I later saw and totally loved both films.

–> Blogpost all about the animated film : My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de Courgette)  <–

The Worldwide premiere of Despicable Me 3 (Moi moche et méchant 3)

Meeting Pierre Coffin… I had a huge mixup with my bus schedule from Geneva to Annecy (not my fault) so I turned up in Annecy 1-2 hours later than I was supposed to. Since I’d already decided I was going to turn up dressed as a Minion, I thought it would be more fun to find someone else to do it with me so I managed to find a French girl who said she would (I’d provide the costume, she’d wear it). She (a film student) had gotten to the festival way earlier than I did and had given me a heads up that Pierre would be signing these (above) posters at a certain time. Since I had to drop off my bags at the hotel first (which was out of town) and the bus was so super slow I was late getting back to Annecy and narrowly missed out on Pierre‘s autograph by just a few seconds! ARGH! I missed out on the poster AND the autograph (and I was not the only one. There were dozens of disappointed people who were still in the queue)!

Not wanting to come all this way to be disappointed twice, I was absolutely determined to get tickets to the premiere no matter what. There would be 95 tickets up for grabs, available to anyone who would be there at the right time. I had to get back to my hotel again (as check-in wasn’t until 5pm) plus I desperately needed a shower which seemed pointless because… It felt like 40° and there was seemingly no air-con in the bus so it was back to sweatsville.

The French girl was texting me to ‘hurry up’ and make it back there quick smart to get in the queue to get the tickets. I got back there as quickly as I could and got lucky number 83. I couldn’t believe it! 3 mins later and I would’ve missed out on a ticket! I felt like Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with his golden ticket and there were so many disappointed people standing by the side with signs begging for tickets, just like at Cannes.

As it had been so hot, it was now pouring rain, and we were very luckily invited to wait inside. This was a Godsend because waiting in that heat or in pouring rain (without an umbrella) for a long period of time would have been a nightmare. While I was still outside in the queue a nice Austrian girl came up to me and offered me her umbrella. She had also met a Swedish girl earlier that day and the three of us got talking…

We then went inside where we were jam packed like sardines waiting for what seemed like an hour… You see, the ticket that we got wasn’t the actual ticket to the event. It was just a ticket that enabled us to buy a ticket! We still had to actually buy one. When it was my turn I felt like screaming. I was soooo excited!

Oh gosh, what hectic madness! Buying our tickets wasn’t the end of it. We then had to queue AGAIN before being led into the cinema (the tickets are not numbered so it’s first in, best dressed). Luckily we had a bit of free time so the Swedish girl and I went to buy something to eat for dinner, the Austrian girl went to do some networking, and my French friends were holding our places in the queue for us…

It took us some time to find somewhere to eat (that was takeaway and not a sit down restaurant) and by the time the Swedish girl and I got back it was already time to go in! ARGH! I lost the Frenchies (and the girl still had my bag with her costume in it!) plus I really needed to go to the toilet so once I got a seat, I very naughtily snuck back out and back in again super quickly without anyone seeing!

When I finally sat back down I was even more excited! There was this huge huge adrenalin rush, I can’t explain it. You just had to be there. And everyone else was crazy happy and excited too!

We also got showbags! (these two figurines are my own though, which I brought along), but the showbag did contain 2 squishy foam-like figurines.

As we’d run out of time to do a photoshoot of us together, after the film ended the French girl (as Edith) and I (as a Minion) went into a corridor and quickly took this photo. Better than nothing right?

So what did I think of the film?

It was fantastic! OK I got to be honest. It wasn’t the best animated film I’ve ever seen but as always, it was full of laughs and sweet moments. But I did love it so much I saw it again back in Lyon with my Gru!

Annecy

I’m not going to write too much about the town itself as it deserves a post all on its own (and indeed, I’ve been thinking long and hard how I can do justice to such an amazing town) as I have so much I want to say about it…

The Top 5 reasons why you must see the Annecy International Animated Film Festival

1. You’ll have a chance to see/meet one or more of your favourite directors
2. You’ll get to attend many interesting and useful film-related events
3. You’ll see one of the most beautiful cities of France
4. You’ll meet many like-minded people and be able to make connections in the animated film industry
5. Because it’s one of the coolest film festivals in the world! 🙂

GO

Annecy is located in France and is approximately 42 km (25 miles) from Geneva (Switzerland), 145 km (90 miles) from Lyon and 550 km (344 miles) from Paris. It is located in the department of Haute-Savoie and the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Location: How do we get to the Annecy International Animated Film Festival?

At the time of writing this, I have been to Annecy over 10 times. Why? Because I’ve always lived nearby, and because I just love it! In saying that though, it’s not really the easiest place to get to. Some say that because it’s a bit of a bourgeois city the NIMBYs want to keep out the masses so they make it intentionally harder and more expensive to get to. I don’t know whether or not there’s any truth to that, but most of the bus or train journeys I’ve taken to get there have been extremely long and the car journeys extremely expensive!

Getting to Annecy by train

NB: There are currently train strikes all over France! Check this site for more information.

You can only buy your train tickets online up to 3 months in advance.

Paris – Annecy: Takes 4-5 hours and costs around 80-180€ return depending on time and seating class. Prices are generally lower the earlier you book.

Lyon – Annecy: From Lyon it’s likely to be the TER train or bus, not the high speed TGV.  Since it’s the TER the prices do not change depending on when you book. It takes 2-3 hours and costs around 55.20€ return.

Marseille – Annecy: Takes 4-5 hours and costs around 60-200€ return depending on time and seating class and when you book.

Nice – Annecy: Takes about 8 hours and not really recommended as it takes too long, the train only runs once/day and is expensive too.

Getting to Annecy by bus

Paris – Annecy: Takes around 8-12 hours one way with Flixbus and costs around 20-100€ return depending on date and time. Prices are generally lower the earlier you book.

Lyon – Annecy: Takes around 1h45 with the SNCF-run Ouibus and costs 18-24€ | takes 2-4hours with Flixbus and costs 14-40€ | Takes around 2 hours with Isiline and costs  around 26€.

Marseille – Annecy: Takes 6-8 hours and costs around 50-80€ return. The carriers are Ouibus, Flixbus and Isilines.

Nice – Annecy: Takes over 8 hours and not really recommended as it takes too long and will more than likely not be running to schedule.

Geneva – Annecy: Interestingly, it’s actually easier to get to Annecy from Geneva (which is in another country!), if you are taking public transport. One thing to be wary of budget bus services is that they are often not running to schedule so if you need to transfer afterwards, don’t make the two bookings too close together. The bus carriers are Trans-dev Haute-Savoie (Transalis (T72 or T73), Eurolines, Altibus and Flixbus. The trip takes 55min-2 hours one way and costs around 12-24€ return.

Getting to Annecy by car/taxi

It is about a 45min drive from Geneva and a 1 hour and 15 min drive from Lyon. NB: the return toll from Lyon costs about 60€ ! Unless you are close by (such as Lyon or Geneva) I wouldn’t recommend driving as it will take quite a long time and the tolls are outrageously expensive. It should be easy enough to get a taxi from Lyon or Geneva but you will more than likely have to pay their toll both ways, and also it may be hard to get a taxi for the return trip since Annecy is a small town and especially during a big festival there will more than likely be a huge shortage of taxis! Look into pre-booking a chauffeur service if you will not be staying overnight. Note that Uber does not run in Annecy, but does in Lyon and Geneva.

The official film festival page also has some useful info about how to get there.

When should we visit theAnnecy International Animated Film Festival?

Dates

The Festival runs from the second Monday to the second Saturday in June every year

• 12 – 17 June, 2017
• 11 – 16 June, 2018
• 10 – 15 June, 2019 
• 15 – 30 June, 2020 (online only due to Covid-19)
• 14 – 19 June, 2021

Please note that June can be very very hot and air-conditioning on public transport and in many places is either non-existent or inadequate so take precautions and bring appropriate clothing, water, sunscreen, a hat, etc. Bring an umbrella too as it actually started raining while I was queuing up for tickets!

How long should we spend in the Annecy International Animated Film Festival?

That is a very hard question to answer as it depends on why you are at the festival in the first place and which people you want to meet and which events you want to catch. You could spend 2 hours there or you could spend the whole week there. It’s totally up to you!

If you are not going to see the festival then you can do Annecy in a daytrip (I have many times) but would really recommend 2 days to soak up the atmosphere, scenery and culture.

Where can we buy tickets to the Annecy International Animated Film Festival?

You can either buy them online or in person, or both, it depends on the event. Please read the terms and conditions.

STAY

As crazy as it seems, I only booked my accommodation and transport 2 days before I planned to arrive. Understandably, I was unable to get any accommodation in the centre of town, but I got one in the outskirts/suburbs/area known as Annecy le Vieux (Old Annecy). It was a bit of a pain to get to by public transport, but doable. The bonus were the beautiful views since it’s higher up than the heart of town.

I ended up staying in Centre Jean XXIII which is clean and comes with a buffet breakfast. There is also free wifi and parking. The only downside is that don’t let you check-in until 5pm.

If you want to stay in the centre of town I’d recommend these hotels:

• Best Western Plus Hotel Carlton (4 stars)
• Mercure Annecy Centre (4 stars)
• Allobroges Hotel (3 stars)
• Campanile Annecy Centre (3 stars)
• Privilodges Le Royal Annecy (3 stars)

If you want to try Airbnb you can get 25-30 euros off your first Airbnb rental when you use my coupon code!

SEE

Palais de l’isle (Island Palace)

Address:  3 Passage de l’Île, 74000 Annecy, France

Opening hours: All year round, daily.

Fees: Adult: 3.80 €, Teenager: 2 €, Child under 12: Free

Site: http://musees.agglo-annecy.fr/eng/content/view/full/30015

Château d’Annecy (Annecy Castle/museum)

Address: Place du château 74000 Annecy, France

Opening hours: 1 June – 30 September: open daily, 10.30 am to 6 pm

http://musees.agglo-annecy.fr/eng/Annecy-Castle

Musée du film d’animation (Animation musuem)

Opening hours: 10am-6pm, Check websites for dates

Fees: Free

Address: 18 Avenue du Tresum, 74000 Annecy, France

Site: http://musees.agglo-annecy.fr/Musee-du-film-d-animation

https://www.facebook.com/pg/MuseeFilmAnimation/

EAT

There are so many good restaurants in the heart of town. If you want to try a dish of the region, try the tartiflette which is a heavy dish made mostly of potatoes and cheese, best eaten during winter.

If I go during summer I always buy a gelato from Glacier Perrière, located on Quai Perrière. It is not the only good gelaterie in town though!

DO

Apart from the 3 main attractions listed above, the best thing to do in Annecy is to simply walk around the picturesque lake! In the summertime I also highly recommend swimming in the crystal clear lake or taking a fun pedalo ride. The hire price is very reasonable!

SHOP

The souvenir shops sell a wide variety of souvenirs from Annecy, the Haute-Savoie and the Alps regions. If you’re a fan of food there are also specialty cheeses of the region.

PHOTO TIPS

For such an amazingly beautiful city Annecy is not as crowded as you think so I don’t have any particular photo tips. Apart from this one trip I’ve always just taken day trips and gotten amazing pics. It’s not hard!

Tell me: Have I inspired you? Would you like to visit this little place otherwise known as ‘Venice of the Alps’?  If you have any further questions or comments please send me an email, Thanks! 🙂

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