FIAF Announces Animation First On Tour

Animation First is a one-of-a-kind event. Held at FIAF (The French Institute Alliance Française) in New York City, the festival brings the best in Francophone animation to US audiences. Since its establishment in 2018 it has screened an impressive array of features, shorts, VR, AR and video games.

Following the sixth edition of the festival earlier this year, FIAF has announced Animation First On Tour. Animation First On Tour offers US cinemas, colleges and universities and other organisations the chance to see a selection of features and shorts that are currently unavailable to audiences through traditional distribution channels.

For the inaugural edition, FIAF have selected three feature films and two programs of short films in association with the Annecy International Animation Festival that screened at this year's festival.

Venues are to be announced but interested organisations can apply via the website.

Animation First: On Tour program includes:

Archipelago (2021) dir. Félix Dufour-Laperrière "Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Archipelago offers a contemplative and poetic travelogue along the St. Lawrence River. It expands into a semi-fictional odyssey through the filmmaker’s native province: Quebec, captured in surprising, creative animation using a wide range of techniques. It is an imaginary documentary — linguistic, political, real and dreamt. Archipelago is a film made of drawings and speeches to tell the story of its inhabitants."

The Island (2021) dir. Anca Damian "One of the most remarkable artists working in animation today, Anca Damian, is back with an “upside-down” version of Robinson Crusoe, with an infusion of magic from The Little Prince and humor from Monty Python. In The Island, Robinson chooses his own exile on an island and Friday is the only survivor of a migrant boat that sunk in the Mediterranean. The two will share a desire to find freedom in a surreal world populated by outcasts and mermaids. Set to a score composed by the Balanescu Quartet, The Island is a visually rich and layered film, both a musical comedy and a surrealist tale where ecological concerns collide with the migrant crisis in a comic observation of a world that doesn’t quite “go round.”"

No Dogs or Italians Allowed (2022) dir. Alain Ughetto "Told as a fictional dialog between Alain Ughetto, the filmmaker, and Cesira, his grandmother, this charming stop-motion film is a deeply personal, yet universal account of the hard-working Italian immigrants who fled poverty and fascism at the turn of the 20th Century. Wide-eye puppets face hardship with resilience and courage in a world where trees are broccoli, mountains are pieces of charcoal, and bricks are sugar cubes. While based on the personal tale of Ughetto’s family, the themes of the strength and courage it takes to immigrate and assimilate to a new culture will resonate with anyone who has been a new person in a new place."

Best of Annecy Kids 2022 -a collection of seven short films "Straight from the 2022 edition of the world famous Annecy International Animation Film Festival and curated by the Annecy Festival team, this program brings together some of the best animated shorts for children that will be a delight for parents and kids alike. The program of 7 shorts is preceded by a tailor-made sequence created by students from Gobelins, l’École de l’Image (Paris)."

Best of Annecy 2022 -a collection of eight short films "The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is the biggest animation film festival in the world. Straight from the 2022 edition, this program includes a series of notable international award-winning shorts selected by the Annecy Festival team. The program of 8 shorts is preceded by a tailor-made sequence created by students from Gobelins, l’École de l’Image (Paris)."