Bruno Simões, Pablo Neruda, Alice Eza Guimarães: Catalonia of Annecy

Bruno Simões’ next film, “Pip,” became the most-watched animated short of all time on YouTube with 540 million views upon its release. “Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope” is a record of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda’s crowning achievements. And “Today is Saturday” by Alice Esa Guimarães of Portugal, winner of the Taling Grand Prix.

All three Catalan animation titles will be screened at Annecy this year, with 11 titles including both the festival and MIFA, demonstrating the rich scope, talent and active collaborative spirit of Catalonia’s still burgeoning animation sector.

This year’s Annecy Mifa Market will also open a window on the brilliant achievements and possibilities of projects carried out through the artistic technology program Ibermedia Next.

For example, on “Ezcazú Souls,” we used Blender’s Grease Pencil module to “combine traditional 2D and 3D worlds, symbiotically working with geometry nodes, to great results,” says producer Laura Dauden. Photos and videos of real environments were reimagined digitally, and texturing of characters and props was “achieved by painting directly onto the model, a technique we use to evoke the aesthetic of Latin American murals,” she added.

Look out for emerging talents such as Susana Casares, co-director of “The Journey” and former head of creative talent development and investments for Netflix Spain and Portugal, and Giulia Fransino, who founded and directed the animation and VFX department at Barcelona film school ESCAC for 10 years and is also the screenwriter of the 2026 Goya Award-nominated short “Paradise Buffet.”

Let’s take a closer look at most of the Catalan titles selected for this year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival or its MIFA market.

“Today is Saturday.”

Director: Alice Esa Guimarães

Producers: Animais AVPL (Portugal), La Clairière Ouest (France), Studio Kimchi (Spain)

Eça Guimarães is a man of variety who follows the Portuguese animation talent active in Perspectives and Tribeca in Annecy. Saturday is a day off. Women wake up early to give themselves the gift of time. But every time a moment of inspiration arises, she gets interrupted: by the kids, by laundry, by meals. “Women continue to carry out disproportionate unpaid domestic work, are chronically exhausted and have little opportunity for personal growth, creativity and reflection,” Guimarães says.

“Dangerous Journey”

Director: Lucija Stojevic, Carla Melo, Yulia Voytova, Laura Guinness

Producer: Noon Films, Spain. Avec-au-Saint-Veu, France

Set for the animated women of Annecy’s “Spanish Pitch”, it is the first of two projects Barcelona’s acclaimed Noon Film will bring to Annecy this year, producing the Médecins Sans Frontières short “Lost at Sea”, which will be shown in Annecy in 2023. This transmedia project depicts three children who were interned at the Rivesaltes concentration camp in France during World War II and classified as “undesirables.” Co-directors are Colombia’s Melo (“La Pera”), Ukraine’s Voytova (“Long Distance”), and experimental animator Zines (“Salvax, Sarvax”).

“Escazu Souls” (“Las Armas de Escazu”)

Creator/Showrunner: Nicholas Hooper H. Individual Episode Director: Nicholas Hooper H. Laura Dowden and Maria Weiss. Sergio Mejia. Anais Taracena. Rita Basurto.

Producer: Forward Films, Spain. Cubho Audiovisual, Chile. Polygon Factory, Spain. Leste, Brazil

An animated documentary anthology series exploring the lives and suspicious deaths of six environmental activists in Latin America is planned, with the pilot episode, part of Ibermedia Next 2.0, now complete and in advanced discussions with potential co-production partners. “This is an ambitious international series,” says producer Laura Dowden. “At the heart of these stories is the love people have for their communities and regions, and how that relationship is transformed by violence,” she added.

“A Usina Atras do Morro”

Director: Ricardo Kampf, Lucas Abraham,

Producer: LPB Content, Brazil. Noon Films, Spain

What the two teenagers witness is that a faceless company has been established near the village, building a factory so large that it overshadows the village, making it a constant nightmare. It’s an absurdist psychological thriller and dark comedy whose visual language is rooted in Goya’s black paintings and the red soil of São Paulo’s rural hinterland, Kump and Abrahao say. Already 2024’s Ventana Sur Animation! A buzzy title, now heading to Annecy’s prestigious MIFA feature film pitch.

“Hunger” (“Humble”)

Director: Imanol Ortiz López

Producer: Orlok Films, Mil Monos Cine, Kabiria Films

Eloy, who is in a wheelchair, tries to convince his wife, Mary, to kill their baby son, Dani, who has claw-like hands. Based on a short story by David Jasso, this psychological horror drama is shot in widescreen black and white and set in a post-apocalyptic world of empty streets and burning cars. “This story is very human and universal. Here we tackle hunger on a dramatic level to highlight the dilemmas parents face while raising children,” says director Ortiz López.

“impossible!”

Director: Bruno Simones

Producers: Studio Kimchi (Spain), Cosmo Giantwheel (UK).

Mifa TV special pitch. Dogs yearn to see the ocean. “Impossible!” he sighs, but a lost crab asks him to help him get home. Adapted from the book by Tracy Corderoy and Tony Neal, “On the surface it’s a charming, colorful adventure filled with memorable characters and light-hearted comedy. But underneath, it’s a deeply relatable story of fear and self-discovery,” Simões told Variety.

“The Journey” (El Vije)

Director: Susana Casares, Julia Francino

Producer: Desarrollos Mediaticos Internacionales (WKND), Dos Soles Media (Spain). Nu Bojana (Portugal)

After a period of time devoted to motherhood, Agus and her dear friend Rory embark on a long-awaited trip to Japan. “But buried fears and hidden secrets threaten the journey, turning an exotic adventure into a heartfelt reckoning tempered by humor, friendship, and self-forgiveness,” the synopsis reads. The pitch for “Animated 2D Women from Spain,” based on Agustina Guerrero’s graphic novel, is “a warm and engaging story that deals with complex themes such as reproductive choices, the unfulfilled dream of motherhood, and the existential anxiety that arises when life deviates from our expectations,” Casares and Fransino say.

“Monster Mia”

Director: Verena Fells

Producer: Arx Anima, Arx Light Pictures, Monstrusa Mia AIE, Peng!Boom!Tschak!Movie, Arx Anima MD

Mia, an expelled student, and her pet mouse, Quentin, arrive at Rotwood Academy. There she is the only human among the monster classmates. Principal Van Vlad hates humans, so she must work with the monsters to thwart his plans. The heavy, creepy, family-targeted high school comedy CGI-animated feature has a declared budget of 9 million euros ($10.4 million), and Sola Media has promising advance sales. It was co-produced outside Spain by Nicolás Matti of Spanish feature-length animated locomotive Arcslight Pictures, who also worked on the “Tad the Lost Explorer” movie series, and Edmond Locke of Barcelona-based Ikil Film.

“Who Killed Cock Robin?”

Director: Romina Martí O’Toole

Producer: Frog Animation and Alhena Productions

Cock Robin is found dead, hanging on the balcony of his country house. “Who killed Cock Robin?” the villagers ask in amazement. “It’s me,” Sparrow answered calmly. However, as the funeral progresses, the village’s dark secrets are gradually revealed. From Frog, it was founded in 2023 by Montse Capon, Mireia Hernández, Xavi Carmona, and Argena veteran Norberto Lama (“Coffee Table”). A potentially insightful depiction of power dynamics. “Even if the visible face of power disappears, the system that produced it will always find a replacement for it, allowing the cycle to continue,” Marty O’Toole told Variety.