2020 Annecy Film Festival Will Include Conversations With Lord & Miller, 'Chicken Run' Directors, 'Frozen 2' Directors, And More

The Annecy Film Festival offers a glimpse at some of the best animation in the world, and while some other fests have been cancelled due to the coronavirus, Annecy is moving forward by shifting completely online this year. While more movies and panel discussions are expected to be added in the days to come, the festival already has an impressive lineup which includes looks at movies like Sony's Phil Lord and Chris Miller-produced Connected, an early look at Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, and more.

While the French festival's complete virtual lineup has yet to be unveiled, several major projects have already been announced. I'm particularly excited about Japan's Lupin III The First, a 3D-rendered story about the beloved gentleman thief. (Hayao Miyazaki's first feature film, which is currently on Netflix, is about that same character.) There's also going to be a work-in-progress presentation of Netflix's The Cuphead Show! based on the popular video game, a making-of presentation about Netflix's Animal Crackers, and a reunion of the directors behind Aardman Studios' Chicken Run, since that movie is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Plus, there will be masterclasses with Henry Selick and composer Bruno Coulais about their work on Coraline and Selick's new Netflix movie Wendell and Wild (which stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele), How to Train Your Dragon director Dean DeBlois, Aladdin and Moana directors Ron Clements and Jon Musker, artists from Cartoon Network discussing the art of storyboarding, and a masterclass from French filmmakers the Blies brothers about the topic of sexual violence in animation.

The 2020 Annecy Film Festival runs from June 15-30, 2020. You can purchase a pass as a member of the general audience for only 15 Euro, which seems like a pretty damn great deal if you have a bit of extra cash and you're a big fan of global animation. Again, more titles are expected to be announced soon, but you can check out the entire lineup as it currently exists and get more information about the festival by visiting its official website.