Move over, Disney, French animation has arrived. From February 2-4, New York’s French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) will host the first-ever French animation festival in the United States, Animation First. France is the largest animated film producer in Europe, and the third largest animated film exporter in the world.
Feature length films, short films, virtual reality, video games, and more will be presented over the course of the weekend. There are opportunities to see works in progress, attend workshops on drawing and sound, see video game demonstrations, and listen to panels of artists and studio executives.
Opening night features Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants, a 3D film for all ages, followed by a party. Later that night, the tenor of the evening changes for Erotic Animation, a series of unconventional, mature shorts celebrating passion and sexuality.
Festival highlights include: a screening of award-winning shorts from the past five years; a Q&A with Michael Dudok de Wit, director of the Oscar-nominated full-length animation, The Red Turtle; a screening of the classic 1973 Cannes Film Festival winning Fantastic Planet (La planète sauvage) by René Laloux; a live-scored screening of early animations with piano accompaniment.
Festival passes, pass-packs, and individual tickets are available for a variety of prices here.
