In addition to the Annecy festival poster featuring a colorful trajinera boat carrying the elegant lady La Catrina and all the Mexican short films in competition, the country’s presence extends to every area of the festival.
A feature film for television is in competition.
The Dr. Gecko Show: Sex Gender directed by Marcos Almada uses a mix of real actors and 2D animations, to make children between 6 and 9 years old aware of the difference between gender and sex, a distinction which is still elusive for many adults. Marcos Almada is an author, illustrator, and audiovisual producer of content for children. In addition to the series El Show del Dr. Gecko, he has taught animation and literature workshops for children in communities across the country.
Works in progress at the Annecy Animated Film Market include the presentation of two Mexican projects.
Frankelda and the Prince of Spooks, a feature film project directed by the brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz, is the story of a Mexican woman writer in the 19th century who travels as a ghost to a kingdom inhabited by her own characters. Her mission is to reestablish the balance between the Kingdom of Fiction and the Kingdom of Existence.
Batman Azteca: Clash of Empires is directed by José Meza for Ánima Studios and presents the first pre-Hispanic superhero. It is the story of the young Aztec Yohualli Coatl who loses his father to the Spanish Conquistadors. Yohualli tries to reach Tenochtitlan to warn Emperor Moctezuma of the danger and, of course, avenge his father’s death.
Nine special programs of 88 shorts are divided by themes to facilitate their approach to the public. They range from shorts from the 1980’s, now considered historic, such as El compa Clodomiro y el capitalismo, political shorts with themes such as the disappearance of women in La llorona directed by Adriana Ronquillo in 2020, and surrealistic shorts like Trajectory of a Tear, a kind of embroidered animation by Marisa Raygoza from 2014. Included are shorts such as The Hero, by Carlos Carrera, winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or, and short films that have won at various festivals by Karla Castañeda, Luis Téllez, Juan José Medina, Sofía Carrillo, León Fernández and René Castillo.
Jury members who will select the award-winners in Annecy will include several Mexicans:
- Sofía Alexander, a juror in the Feature Film Section.She is a storyboard artist, director, supervisor, and producer for companies like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney TV, AMC, and Marvel.She hopes “to help establish animation as an artistic medium, and to tell diverse, unprecedented stories that reflect the world we live in”.
- Estrella Araiza, jury member in the Films for Television and Commissioned Films sections, is the general director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Throughout her career as promoter and distributor, she has focused on Mexican and Latin American cinema.
- Jorge Gutiérrez, Mexican director and producer, will be on a jury in the Virtual Reality section.(See Kudos section.)
- The Perspectives section will be judged by three young Mexican animation professionals, who will present the City of Annecy award: Airam Gracia, Sara Gutiérrez and Pablo Emiliano Pérez.
The Nouvelle Vague of Mexican Animation groups six projects full of significance, especially in France. They will be distributed on different platforms, for different audiences. All participate in the Audience Award at the Annecy Festival.
A Mutt’s Tale Is a 3D animated feature film for a family audience. In it, the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl reincarnates as Ramón, a Xoloitzcuintle dog, with the mission of restoring love between dogs and humans. Directed by Patricia García Peña and Bruce Morris.
The ABC of Racism in Mexico is a micro series in 10 chapters of 5 minutes each, directed by Antonio Arellano. Using animation and collage in a satirical way, it raises awareness among young adults, and hopefully all ages, about the obvious and hidden forms of racism in Mexico. It has interviews with expert anthropologists and is partially spoken in indigenous languages.
Mambo y Domingo is a television series for preschool children that narrates the adventures of a very smart corgi and his imaginative neighbor, a guinea pig. This Mexican-Canadian co-production is directed by Henedy Macias and Dieter Magallan.
Trace of Your Blood in The Snow is a feature film based on a short story by Gabriel García Márquez – part of the writer’s Twelve Pilgrim Tales – directed by Gonzalo García Barcha and Elías Nahmias. It is a 2D animation for adults and young adults.
King Mystery vs. Darkness is a children’s series in which a wrestler`s mask has superpowers that help in the eternal fight against evil. The directors introduce themselves using the names of wrestlers: Gemelo Catrina I, Gemelo Catrina II, Mestizo Enmascarado — a sign they are deeply into the plot!
Time to Fly – Cosmonaute 360 is a 3D animated short for children in which a group of explorers of the cosmos climb mountains on a pony and meet animals and plants extinct in their time. Directed by Jesús Pérez Irigoyen
