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Hungarian Edition
In a significant announcement at the weekend’s closing ceremony of the world’s foremost animation festival, the Annecy International Animation Festival revealed that Hungarian animation will be the focal point in June 2025. This homage coincides with the 110th anniversary of Hungarian animation, a milestone that will be celebrated by featuring its most prominent creators, studios, leading producers, and rising stars.
Marcel Jean, the festival’s artistic director, officially announced this tribute during the festival’s awards gala. In 2025, Hungarian animation will be showcased in a 360-degree panorama, presenting its history, industry, education, and contemporary creators. Additionally, Hungarian artists will be responsible for the festival’s visual identity and accompanying films, according to a press release from the National Film Institute (NFI).
Recent years have been particularly fruitful for Hungarian animation, with a record number of feature films produced. Notable examples include “White Plastic Sky,” “Blue Pelikan,” “Toldi,” “Four Souls of Coyote,” and “Tomi, Polli, and the House Spirit,” a Czech-Slovak-Hungarian co-production. The latter two have received prestigious awards at Annecy. This year’s festival also featured Hungarian entries: László Csáki’s “Blue Pelikan” in the Contrechamp competition and Viktória Traub’s “Shoes and Hooves” among the short films, with post-production done at the NFI Film Lab.
Additionally, the Oscar-winning Michel Hazanavicius presented “La plus précieuse des marchandises” (“The Most Precious Goods”), a film made in collaboration with Kecskemétfilm Studio. The festival jury included Buda Flóra Anna, an acclaimed Hungarian animation director and winner of both the Cannes Golden Palm and the Annecy Crystal.
Hungarian animation has been enchanting audiences for 110 years, as highlighted by the NFI. On February 4, 2024, the Film Institute launched a commemorative year dedicated to Hungarian animation, marking the birthday of Gyula Macskássy, considered the father of Hungarian animation. Throughout the year, numerous special events and surprises will engage viewers.
Hungarian animation will also be the centerpiece of the Budapest Classic Film Marathon, the country’s largest festival for restored films, set to take place from September 17-22.
