Festival Key Moments

Rave reviews for "Saint Seiya Legend of Sanctuary"

Festivalgoers were able to attend the highly anticipated return of the much loved Gold Saints when the upcoming film had its world premiere at Annecy, a few days before its theatrical release in Japan.

Many fans showed up, and an ecstatic audience hailed Saint Seiya Legend of Sanctuary by Keiichi Sato. Each time a saint that had been completely remastered in stunning 3D animation appeared on screen, thunderous applause filled the theatre. Several action scenes and many references to the series were also crowd-pleasers.

A brilliant comeback for the modern Knights of the Zodiac who once again, have not let their fans down.

A Disney day full of surprises!

Once again, Disney and Pixar studios held events throughout Tuesday, which ended with the traditional Disney BBQ on the beach.

The day got off to a great start with a Disney•Pixar presentation of Inside Out, by Oscar-winning director Pete Docter. In a crowded theatre, the charismatic filmmaker talked about the genesis of the film and showed some exclusive first footage. The Screening Event ended on a high note with the surprise screening of Party Central, a short (never-before-seen in France), featuring our favourite characters from Monsters, Inc..

With hardly enough time to recover from these first previews, the day continued with the world premiere screening of the newest short from Walt Disney Animation Studios Feast, presented by director Patrick Osborne. Following that, two clips from their upcoming feature Big Hero 6 as well as extracts from the storyboard were unveiled for the captivated audience.

After this action-packed day, the lucky guests at the illustrious barbecue thrown by Disney got the chance to revel in the abundance of burgers, cookies and ice cream! The whole beach had been decorated in the Disney style for the occasion.

Finally, to end the lovely day in a lovely way, the karaoke version of Frozen was shown on the Pâquier's giant screen, with thousands of spectators singing along to "Let it Go".

A performance paying tribute to Segundo de Chomón

Segundo de Chomón's film reels travelled around for almost a century before coming to Annecy 2014, who chose to pay tribute to this animation and special effects pioneer with an original cine-concert performance.

Thanks to the Turin National Museum of Cinema's restoration of these reels, the audience was able to experience the delicate and poetic animation of Segundo de Chomón, accompanied by the music of Stéphan Oliva and Jean-Marc Foltz.

These two big names in the jazz and contemporary classical music scenes put a spin on the ambiance of the films to the whims of their melodies by giving two completely different improvisations; creating a dark soundscape during the first film and a light and cheerful one for the second.

The musicians later explained to the audience how much music plays a part in the continuation of the animation, creating images beyond and in harmony with those on the screen. They referenced the use of a storyboard to understand the film's structure and interpret the essence of the animation without undermining it.

The audience of film and music lovers alike discovered a perfect match: the happy union of animated images and live music.

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