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The Annecy festival is held annually in Annecy, France. The festival is regarded as one of the most prestigious animation events held globally, according to many.
This year's festival was significant for many reasons. Besides discussing animated films, real-world concerns also entered the spotlight. During the closing ceremony, jury members addressed ongoing global conflicts, including the war in Gaza.
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Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi used his moment at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival to call for justice and peace.
The top prize went to Arco at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival
The Cristal for Best Feature Film is the festival's top honor. It went to Arco, a debut feature from French illustrator and comics creator Ugo Bienvenu. The feature was produced by Natalie Portman. Notably, it premiered earlier this year at Cannes.
On the other hand, the Jury Prize in the main competition went to ChaO, an anime by Japanese director Yasuhiro Aoki and produced by Studio 4°C. The film will be distributed in North America by GKIDS.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, a complete breakdown of the winners at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival is as follows:
Full list of winners at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival
FEATURE FILMS – COMPETITION
- CRISTAL FOR A FEATURE FILM: Arco, dir. Ugo Bienvenu, France
- JURY AWARD: ChaO, dir. Yasuhiro Aoki, Japan
- PAUL GRIMAULT AWARD: Dandelion’s Odyssey, dir. Momoko Seto, France/Belgium
- GAN FOUNDATION AWARD FOR DISTRIBUTION: Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, dir. Irene Iborra Rizo, Spain/France/Belgium/Chile/Switzerland
- AUDIENCE AWARD: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, dir. Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, France
FEATURE FILMS – CONTRECHAMP
- CONTRECHAMP GRAND PRIX: Endless Cookie, dir. Seth Scriver, Pete Scriver, Canada
- CONTRECHAMP JURY AWARD: The Square, dir. Bo-Sol Kim, South Korea
SHORT FILMS
- CRISTAL FOR A SHORT FILM: The Night Boots, dir. Pierre-Luc Granjon, France
- JURY AWARD: Les Bêtes, dir. Michael Granberry, USA
- ALEXEÏEFF–PARKER AWARD: Sappho, dir. Rosana Urbes, Brazil
- OFF‑LIMITS AWARD: The Graffiti, dir. Ryo Orikasa, Japan
- JEAN‑LUC XIBERRAS AWARD FOR A FIRST FILM: Zwermen, dir. Janneke Swinkels, Tim Frijsinger, Netherlands/Belgium
- AUDIENCE AWARD: The Night Boots, dir. Pierre-Luc Granjon, France
TV AND COMMISSIONED FILMS
- CRISTAL FOR A TV PRODUCTION: Christo The Civilized Barbarian: "Hunting Party", dir. Shaddy Safadi, USA
- JURY AWARD FOR A TV SERIES: Lena's Farm: "Volles Nest", dir. Elena Walf, Germany
- JURY AWARD FOR A TV SPECIAL: An Almost Christmas Story, dir. David Lowery, USA
- AUDIENCE AWARD: Freaked Out: "Major Decision", dir. Théo Grosjean, Mothy Richard, Belgium/France
GRADUATION FILMS
- CRISTAL FOR A GRADUATION FILM: Zootrope, dir. Léna Martinez, France
- JURY AWARD: Between the Gaps, dir. Martin Bonnin, France
- LOTTE REINIGER AWARD: Q, dir. Masataka Kihara, Japan
VR WORKS
- CRISTAL FOR THE BEST VR WORK: Fragile Home
Special Prizes at Annecy International Animation Film Festival
- FRANCE TV AWARD FOR A SHORT FILM: Pooya Afzali, for At Night
- SACEM AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK IN A SHORT FILM: Sebastian Hilli, for Dollhouse Elephant
- SACEM AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK IN A FEATURE FILM: Arnaud Toulon, for Arco
- PABLO PICO DISTINCTION – SACEM AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK IN A FEATURE FILM: Jean L'Appeau, for Death Does Not Exist
- CANAL+ JUNIOR JURY AWARD: Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears, for Forevergreen
- YOUNG AUDIENCE AWARD: Francis Desharnais, for The Great Annual Party of the Creatures of the Moon
- ANDRÉ MARTIN AWARD FOR A FRENCH SHORT FILM: Pierre‑Luc Granjon, for The Night Boots
- FESTIVALS CONNEXION AWARD FOR A VR WORK: Ondřej Moravec, Victoria Lopukhina, for Fragile Home
- XPPEN AWARD FOR A GRADUATION FILM: Jiali Tan, Haoyuan Zhu, for Won’t Be Here
- VIMEO STAFF PICK AWARD FOR A SHORT FILM IN THE OFFICIAL AND OFF‑LIMITS CATEGORIES: Michael Granberry, for Les Bêtes
- CITY OF ANNECY AWARD: Justice Rutikara, for Ibuka, Justice
- CITY OF ANNECY JURY SPECIAL DISTINCTION: Niko Radas, for Psychonauts
MIFA Pitch Awards
- CINEKID FOR PROFESSIONALS PRIZE: The Star‑Child
- MIFA – BEST PERFORMANCE PRIZE: Crocodile Dance
- MIFA – ANIMATION DU MONDE PRIZE: Sun Chaser
FEATURE FILMS
- SACD PRIZE: Maryam & Varto
- CICLIC PRIZE: Saima – Scenes from a Midlife Crisis
- CRISTAL PUBLISHING PRIZE: The Northern Star
- TITRAFILM PRIZE: The Last of the Pebbles
SHORT FILMS
- SACD PRIZE: A Blue Monday
- ARTE FRANCE PRIZE: Kateryna
- CICLIC PRIZE: Haan
- NEF ANIMATION PRIZE: Very Flexible Girl
- FILMVÆRKSTED VIBORG PRIZE: Where Is My Espresso?
- STUDIOS ALHAMBRA PRIZE: Escucha El Río
TV SERIES & SPECIALS
- DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION PRIZE: Pouic and Pica
- PRIX CICLIC: Brune
- TITRAFILM PRIZE: Beasties
- STUDIOS ALHAMBRA PRIZE: The Star‑Child
DOCUMENTARIES
- EURODOC PRIZE: Ouch!
- DOK LEIPZIG PRIZE: Black Diaries
- TITRAFILM PRIZE: Erased
- CRISTAL PUBLISHING PRIZE: Ouch!
- BIPTV PRIZE: Playing House
- CICLIC PRIZE: Red Zone
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES at Annecy International Animation Film Festival
- WEIRD MARKET PRIZE: Damned
- THE BOOSTER BY UNITED XR EUROPE PRIZE: Poems of Life
- NEWIMAGES PRIZE: The Mother Tree
- ANIDOX XR RESIDENCY PRIZE: DeMaré – A Sensory Journey to the Depths of the Ocean
Beyond the awards, the 2025 Annecy festival offered a stage to filmmakers to reflect on global events. Sepideh Farsi's speech in honor of Fatma Hassouna, a Palestinian journalist killed in Gaza, underscored how artists are not immune to the conflicts that shape the world they depict. She stated:
"Something else has taken me away. Sometimes, being part of the cinema family, the animation family, is not enough to make the changes, the significant changes that need to be made. Sometimes we have to go beyond the films that we make. We have to become like the heroes and heroines of our films, become bigger than ourselves, become better people, and try to make changes differently in the real world."
Sepideh continued her speech at the 2025 Annecy, mentioning:
"There are quite a few conflicts ongoing. One of them is particularly monstrous. That is the ongoing genocide in Gaza. For one year, I worked for Fatma Hassouna. She was killed two months ago in an Israeli airstrike targeting her house with all her family."
She concluded, stating:
"I had made a promise to her to go to Gaza to meet her once the war was over. I have not been able to keep that promise, but I will try to do something that would be meaningful, because we need to break this blockade and to stop this war."
Iranian filmmaker Shiva Sadegh Assadi also called for peace through poetry at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
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