The 47th edition of Annecy International Film Festival opened on a defiantly upbeat note on Sunday evening just three three days after its picturesque lakeside home was rocked by a violent knife attack.
“Three days ago, Annecy’s joie de vivre was attacked. I’m convinced that the best response to this drama is to live life even more to the full and more intensely,” Annecy major François Astorg told a packed Bonlieu auditorium.
“With this conviction, I believe that art and culture celebrates life, questions it and allows us make it better,” he added, saying this year’s edition was an act of resistance.
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The atmosphere in the auditorium was positive as the youthful audience kept up the festival tradition of firing paper planes at the stage.
Thursday’s attack by a lone knifeman on four nursery age children and two adults, took place just metres from the festival hub on a large, lawned recreational area known as Le Pâquier, which is the site of the open-air screenings and other events throughout the year.
While the opening ceremony has gone ahead as planned, the festival announced on Friday that it was delaying its open-air program by one day out of respect for the victims and their families.
It’s open-air arena played host instead to a large gathering of local people on Sunday morning to mark Thursday’s events.
By the afternoon, children were once again playing in the park, while people curiously looked at the large mound of flowers and cards from well-wishers that has piled-up besides its slide.
The festival opens this year with French filmmaker Benoît Chieux’s first solo animated feature Sirocco And The Kingdom Of Air about the adventures of two young sisters who get trapped in the pages of a children’s book and its fantastical Kingdom of the Winds.
It is among 11 titles competing for the festival’s Cristal award.
“Beyond Sirocco, a wind of hope that can blow through this theatre if we want it,” said Astorg.
Prior to the opening film, the audience was also treated to the world premiere of Dan Abraham and Trent Correy’s new short Once Upon A Studio celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary.
The pair explained how they had initiated the project off the grid, working nights and weekends to figure out a way to pay tribute to the studio and its legacy.
The clever work, featuring a cameo by legendary 70-year animator Burny Mattinson, sees Mickey Mouse corralling a gallery of legendary Disney characters for a group photo.
Abraham and Correy described the work as a “love letter” to the studio.
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