Annecy International Animation Film Festival

The Annecy Festival: World Capital of Animation Since 1960

Created in 1960 on the initiative of Pierre Barbin and ASIFA (International Animated Film Association), the Annecy International Animation Film Festival was born from the desire to give animation a global reference event. Biennial at its beginnings, it became annual in 1998 and has not stopped growing since, establishing itself as the largest animation festival in the world, both in terms of the quality of its official selection and the scale of its professional market, the Mifa.

Annecy annually hosts the biggest international studios — Pixar, DreamWorks, Studio Ghibli, Netflix Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios — alongside independent directors, animation schools, and emerging creators from over eighty countries. The official selection includes feature films, short films, TV films, commissioned films, graduation films, and immersive works.

The Annecy Cristal: Animation's Highest Distinction

The Annecy Cristal, the festival's supreme award, is considered the equivalent of the Palme d'Or for animated film. The greatest names in animation have been celebrated in Annecy: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Michel Ocelot, Sylvain Chomet, Tomm Moore, Mamoru Hosoda, and Guillermo del Toro. The festival's list of winners is a true anthology of the best of world animation.

An Exceptionally Rich Program

Beyond the official competition, the festival offers a remarkably dense program: special screenings, world premieres, masterclasses, professional conferences, exhibitions, and open-air screenings on the Pâquier facing the lake and Mont Veyrier. The open-air screenings, free and open to all, gather thousands of spectators each evening in a breathtaking natural setting.

The Mifa: The Premier Global Animation Market

The Mifa (International Animation Film Market), created in 1985, is the largest professional market dedicated to animation. It brings together over 4,000 professionals from more than seventy countries each year for pitching sessions, business meetings, round tables, and project presentations. The Mifa is an essential driver of the global animation industry, fostering international co-productions and the financing of new projects.

Strong Local Roots

The festival is inseparable from the city of Annecy and its exceptional setting between lake and mountains. The Cité internationale du cinéma d'animation, scheduled to open in 2026, will strengthen this unique link between Annecy and animation, offering a permanent space dedicated to the creation, training, and dissemination of animated film. The festival benefits from the support of the CNC, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, the Department of Haute-Savoie, and the City of Annecy.