Annecy 2019 Feature Selection Revealed
The line-up is traditionally revealed in stages in the months leading up to the festival. This week saw the unveiling of the highlights of this year's feature selection. Outside of the competition, Studio Ponoc will present their anthology Modest Heroes, Toy Story 4 will screen with director Josh Cooley in attendance and Warner Brothers Animation will present a selection of their new Looney Tunes shorts. Spider-Man Into The Spiderverse, Mary and The Witch's Flower, Ratatouille and How To Train Your Dragon The Hidden World will all receive Open-air screenings.
The selections in competition will compete this year in one of two categories: Features and Contrechamp. Check out the full selection here.
FEATURES
Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles (Spain/Netherlands)
Synopsis: "Following the scandal after the screening of "The Golden Age" in Paris in 1930, Luis Buñuel becomes completely depressed and penniless. A winning lottery ticket will change things and enable Buñuel to make the film "Land Without Bread".
The Bear's Famous Invasion. (Italy/ France)
"It all starts with Tonio, the Bear King’s son, who is kidnapped by hunters in the Sicilian mountains. When the harsh winter threatens his people with famine, King Léonce decides to invade the land where the men live. With the help of his army, and a wizard, he succeeds and finally finds Tonio. But he soon discovers that bears are not meant to live in the land of men."
Marona's Fantastic Tale (Romania/ France/Belgium)
"Victim of an accident, a small female dog remembers her different masters that she has unconditionally loved. Due to her unfailing empathy, her life becomes a lesson about love."
Ride Your Wave (Japan)
"Hinako, a girl who loves surfing, moves to a seaside town. During a fire, she is saved by Minato a firefighter. This meeting bears witness to an improbable fusion between two beings from opposing elements. But, Minato drowns while out surfing alone. When everyone else is trying to get over Minato’s death, Hinako hangs onto her friend’s spirit that reappears in the form of water."
Checkered Ninja (Denmark)
"When Alex gets a Ninja doll from his uncle Stewart after a trip to Thailand, he finds out that the doll is alive and can help him deal with problems he has at school. Alex agrees to return the favor, but soon Alex realizes that the checkered ninja is possessed and on a mission to get his revenge."
The Relative Worlds (Japan)
"Shin is an ordinary high-school boy living in Tokyo. One day he meets a boy called Jin who looks exactly like him, and claims that he comes from another world. According to Jin, a parallel world exists where the evil Princess Kotoko reigns. Jin has come to Tokyo to kill her Kotoko double, who happens to be Shin's closest friend, Kotori."
The Wonderland (Japan)
"Akane is a young shy girl, lacking in self-confidence. The day before her birthday she goes to her Aunt’s antique shop to choose herself a present. Suddenly a very mysterious man appears from her Aunt’s basement: Hippocrates the Alchemist. He comes from another world that is threatened by a serious drought. He believes that Akane is the Goddess of the Green Wind and that she can save their world."
White Snake (China)
"A young woman called Blanca, who'd lost her memory was saved by a snake catcher, Xuan. But, she is far from being out of danger. They go in search of clues to her identity. Along the way they encounter one dangerous obstacle after another, and gradually develop feelings for one another. Just as they are close to working out who she really is, disaster looms."
CONTRECHAMP
Away (Latvia)
Synopsis: "A boy and a little bird are travelling across an island on a motorcycle trying to escape a dark spirit and return home."
Children Of The Sea (Japan)
"Ruka is a school girl who lives with her mother. She is passionate about handball, and on the first day of the holidays she is excluded from her team. Furious she decides to go and visit her father at the aquarium where he works. There she meets Umi, who appears to have a gift for communicating with marine animals. Ruka is fascinated. One evening supernatural events occur."
Salma's Big Wish [aka Dia De Muertos] (Mexico)
"In the little town of Santa Clara, lives Salma, a 16-year-old orphan who has spent most of her life searching for clues to the identity of her biological parents. But, without any keepsakes to bring them back on the annual celebration of the Day of the Dead, she is forced to embark on a journey to the only place she hasn't looked."
Homeless (Chile)
"When the world’s worst financial crisis in history breaks out, a bunch of marginal street bums confront the dictatorship of the last corporation standing. The vagabonds want to reestablish the system, the one they despise so much, so that they can have their camp back under a bridge."
Kung Food (China)
"Super Bao, an innocent and passionate steamed stuffed bun, goes through untold hardships and finally grows into a great hero who saves the food world."
Underdog (South Korea)
" A dog is a man’s best friend. Affectionate and loyal, but once he gets old, or behaves badly, he is thrown out like a dirty hanky. Although when he finds himself alone face to face with nature again, his animal instinct returns, and then his place as a pack animal. United and determined this little pack of stray dogs will slowly but surely relearn how to survive on their own, and discover freedom."
Ville Neuve (Canada)
"The poetry and powerful images bring together intimate and collective destinies. Joseph moves into a friend's house and tries to reconnect with the woman who left him. A fragile redemption becomes imaginable, in a Quebec, perhaps, at the dawn of its independence."
Zero Impunity (France/Luxembourg)
"This is part of a global transmedia project combining investigative journalism and activism, aimed at ending the seemingly total impunity for the use of sexual violence in current armed conflicts, featuring inspiring victims around the world who have the courage to break their silence. Join the Movement!"
For full program details visit the festival's website.
