Annecy XR Program Looks Towards The Future

variety.com:

Ben Croll For the past six years the Annecy Animation Film Festival has looked to entrench VR producers within the global animation community.After launching a dedicated showcase in 2016, introducing a full-on competition in 2019, and keeping the VR component active for two years of hybrid and online-only editions, this year’s return to full force will spotlight eight VR projects in competition, alongside three work-in-progress screenings, a pitch session, and a series of wide-ranging conferences dedicated to future of the medium.“Our program reflects the diversity and richness of VR today,” says XR program head Arnaud Miquel. “Annecy has always been a place of experimentation, and from the moment artists take hold of this medium to do something new, we want to support them and give them visibility.” On the competition side, Jean Bouthors’ scripted short “Kidnapped in Vostok” and Rosa Schillaci’s immersive doc “Affiorare” will world premiere in Annecy, joining lauded projects like Hsin-Chien Huang’s “Samsara,” Benjamin Steiger Levine’s “Marco & Polo Go Round,” and Benjamin Cleary & Michael O’Connor’s “Glimpse” in a tight selection with a clear criteria.“We can consider live action, but there must be a contribution from animation in the artistic development of the work,” Miquel explains. “Even the more experimental titles remain narrative.

They share a purpose and are more than interactive games.”A similarly ontological concern lies at the center of this year’s bulked up industry program, which looks to bolster and enshrine the animated VR film as a viable standalone medium.“Animated VR is at the crossroads of the extremely popular and lucrative industries of animation and video games,” says Miquel.