Flee
Animated documentary Flee won the top Cristal for a feature film at the AnnecyInternationalAnimation Film Festival, which concluded on Saturday.
An international co-production helmed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Flee follows a man, Amin (a pseudonym), who recounts for the first time his journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau were among the executive producers.
The Hollywood Reporter review called the movie “a powerful and poetic memoir of personal struggle and self-discovery that expands the definition of documentary.”
Monica Hellström and two-time Oscar nominee Signe Byrge Sørensen produced via Final Cut for Real. It was also produced by Sun Creature Studio, Vivement Lundi!, Mostfilm and Mer Film. Neon acquired North American distribution rights to Flee after its Sundance premiere.
Along with the Cristal, Flee claimed the Gan Foundation Award for distribution on Saturday. Additionally, among several special prizes awarded on Friday, Flee and its composer Uno Helmersson received the award for best original music in a feature film.
Twice in the last five years, the winner of Annecy’s Cristal for a feature went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for best animated feature. Those films were I Lost My Body, which accepted the Cristal in 2019, and My Life as a Zucchini, which won the top Annecy prize in 2016 en route to an Oscar nomination.
Additional Annecy honorees included The Crossing, which received the Jury Distinction for a feature film; My Sunny Maad, which collected the Jury Award for a feature film; Vanilla, which earned the Cristal for a TV production; and Replacements, which won the Cristal for best VR Work.
The list of winners follows:
CRISTAL FOR A FEATURE FILM: Flee Jonas POHER RASMUSSEN
Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden SUN CREATURE STUDIO, FINAL CUT FOR REAL, VIVEMENT LUNDI !, MER FILMS, MOST FILM
JURY AWARD: My Sunny Maad Michaela PAVLÁTOVÁ
Czech Republic, France, Slovakia SACREBLEU PRODUCTIONS, NEGATIV S.R.O., BFILM
JURY DISTINCTION: The Crossing Florence MIAILHE
Germany, France, Czech Republic LES FILMS DE L’ARLEQUIN, BALANCE FILM, MAURFILM S.R.O., XBO FILMS
GAN FOUNDATION AWARD FOR DISTRIBUTION: Flee Jonas POHER RASMUSSEN
Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden SUN CREATURE STUDIO, FINAL CUT FOR REAL, VIVEMENT LUNDI !, MER FILMS, MOST FILM
CONTRECHAMP AWARD: Bob Spit – We Do Not Like People Cesar CABRAL
Brazil COALA FILMES
CONTRECHAMP JURY DISTINCTION: Archipelago Félix DUFOUR-LAPERRIÈRE
Canada EMBUSCADE FILMS
CRISTAL FOR A SHORT FILM: Peel Samuel PATTHEY, Silvain MONNEY
Switzerland DOK MOBILE
JURY AWARD: Easter Eggs Nicolas KEPPENS
Belgium, France, Netherlands ANIMAL TANK, KA-CHING CARTOONS, MIYU PRODU
JURY DISTINCTION-SPECIAL DISTINCTION FOR DIRECTION: Affairs of the Art Joanna QUINN
United Kingdom, Canada BERYL PRODUCTIONS INTERNATIONAL LTD., ONF – OFFICE NATIONAL DU FILM DU CANADA
JEAN-LUC XIBERRAS” AWARD FOR A FIRST FILM: Hold Me Tight Mélanie ROBERT-TOURNEUR
Belgium, France VIVI FILM, LA CLAIRIÈRE PRODUCTION
“OFF-LIMITS” AWARD: Tunable Mimoid Vladimir TODOROVIC
Australia HOOPSNAKE STUDIO
CRISTAL FOR A TV PRODUCTION: Vanille Guillaume LORIN
France, Switzerland FOLIMAGE, NADASDY FILM SARL
JURY AWARD FOR A TV SERIES: Japan Sinks: 2020 “The Beginning of the End” Masaaki YUASA
Japan SCIENCE SARU INC.
JURY AWARD FOR A TV SPECIAL: Mum Is Pouring Rain Hugo DE FAUCOMPRET
France LAÏDAK FILMS, DANDELOOO
CRISTAL FOR A COMMISSIONED FILM: Kai “A Little Too Much” Martina SCARPELLI
USA
JURY AWARD FOR A COMMISSIONED FILM: Help! We Have a Blind Patient Robin JENSEN
Norway MIKROFILM AS
CRISTAL FOR A GRADUATION FILM: Hippocampe Zehao LI
China CHINA ACADEMY OF ART
JURY AWARD: Avant Marcell MOSTOHA
Hungary MOME – MOHOLY-NAGY UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGN
JURY DISTINCTION-OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION: Butterfly Jam Shih-Yen HUANG
France, Taiwan ENSAD – ÉCOLE NATIONALE SUPÉRIEURE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS
CRISTAL FOR THE BEST VR WORK: Replacements (Penggantian) Jonathan HAGARD
Germany, Indonesia, Japan KAMPUNG AYU
