Directors Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre take home the top prize for their animated film Little Nicholas–Happy as Can Be at the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.
Co-produced French/Luxembourg film takes place towards the end of the1950s in Paris, René Goscinny (voiced by Alain Chabat) and Jean-Jacques Sempé (voiced by Laurent Lafitte) invented the character Nicholas, a small boy and prankster with a smile on his face whose days are punctuated by games with his band of friends, fights, joking around, and learning. When the fictional character is invited into the workshop of his “dads,” the roles are reversed, and it’s the creators who recount their childhoods, their careers, and their friendship to Little Nicholas.
In 2021, Flee won top prize at the Annecy festival and then went on to grab three Oscar nominations, with one being for best animated film. Will Little Nicholas follow in the same path?
Here are the award winning films at this year’s festival:
FEATURE FILM
Cristal For Feature Film
Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be Le Petit Nicolas
Dir. Amandine Fredon FREDON, Benjamin Massoubre
Jury Award
Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens
Dir. Alain Ughetto
Jury Distinction
My Love Affair With Marriage
Dir. Signe Baumane
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
Dir. Pierre Foldes
Gan Foundation Award for Distribution
Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens
Dir. Alain Ughetto
Contrechamp Award
Dozens of Norths (Ikuta no Kita)
Dir. Koji Yamamura
Contrechamp Jury Distinction
Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On
Dir. Jun-pyo Hong
SHORTS
Cristal for a short film
Amok
Dir. Balázs Turai
Jury Award
Steakhouse
Dir. Spela Cadez
Jury Distinction “For its beautifully crafted animation and its great physical experience”
Anxious Body
Dir. Yoriko Mizushiri
Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for first film
The Record
Dir. Jonathan Laskar
Off Limits Award
Intersect
Dir. Dirk Koy
TV AND COMMISSIONED FILMS
Cristal for a TV Production
My Year of Dicks
Dir. Sara Gunnardottir
Jury Award for a TV series
Dos Pajaritos
Dir. Alejo Schettini, Alfredo Soderguit
Jury Award for a TV Special
The House
Dir. Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth Von Bahr, Paloma Baeza
Cristal for a commissioned film
Save Ralph
Dir. Spencer Susser
Jury Award for a commissioned film
Aline
Dir. Wes Anderson
GRADUATION FILMS
Cristal for a Graduation Film
Persona
Dir. Sujin Moon
Jury Award
A Dog Under A Bridge
Dir. Rehoo Tang
Jury Distinction
Maman il a quoi le chien?
Dir. Lola Lefevre
VR
Cristal for the Best VR Work
Glimpse
Dir. Benjamin Cleary, Michael O’ Connor
Jury Distinction
Goliath: Playing With Reality
Dir. Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla
