21/11/2023 - Liu Jian, Benoît Chieux, and the duo Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal are among the many names headlining the event, which is unspooling 22-28 November in Paris’ Forum des Images

Tomorrow will see They Shot The Piano Player [+see also:
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film profile] by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal (screened in Toronto and San Sebastian, and due for release in French cinemas on 24 January) opening the 20th edition of Carrefour du cinéma d’animation (running from 22-28 November in Paris’ Forum des images), during which the two Spanish directors will also look back on their filmmaking journey, their collaborations and their love of music as part of a meeting hosted by Serge Lalou (Les Films d’ici Méditerranée).

Another guest of honour at the Parisian event dedicated to animation in all its forms is Chinese director Liu Jian. He’ll be delivering a masterclass and will also form the focus of a retrospective including Art College 1994, which is set to close the festival.

French helmer Benoît Chieux is similarly set for the showcase. As the godfather of "animated exquisite corpse" (which animation students will participate in as part of the festival), he’ll also be delivering a masterclass and enjoying a screening of his debut feature film Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds [+see also:
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In the category of politics and animation, British director Ian Gardner will be gracing the festival with A Bear Named Wotjek and French-Cambodian filmmaker Denis Do (Funan [+see also:
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interview: Denis Do
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Other premières set to steal focus are those of Four Souls of Coyote [+see also:
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interview: Áron Gauder
film profile] by Hungary’s Áron Gauder (awarded the Jury Prize in Annecy, his country’s candidate for next year’s Best International Film Oscar, and due for release in France on 1 May), White Plastic Sky [+see also:
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interview: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó
film profile] by his compatriots Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó (the star attraction of the Encounters competition in this year’s Berlinale and due for release in France on 17 April) and The Inventor [+see also:
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film profile] by Jim Capobianco and Pierre-Luc Granjon (released on 31 January 2024).

How does a studio work? What are the stages involved in the creation of an animated work? The three explanatory sessions exploring "The Creation of Animation" will look to answer these questions, involving producer Ron Dyens (Sacrebleu Productions !), a work in progress session on Jan Kounen’s Epiphania (adapted from Ludovic Debeurme’s comic book of the same name) and a focus on the series Samuel (adapted for Arte.tv and TikTok) featuring its creator Émilie Tronche and its producer Damien Megherbi (Les Valseurs).

Rounding off the copious programme concocted by the Forum des Images team for this 20th Carrefour du Cinéma d’Animation is the traditional "Japanim" line-up, a “carte blanche” section at the Gobelins Paris Film School, a selection of special screenings, and thirty or so short films, which should satisfy aficionados of the genre and open all possible doors to animation for novices of all ages.

(Translated from French)