Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled its 2026 lineup, which includes 11 features in the main competition and previews of upc
Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled its 2026 lineup, which includes 11 features in the main competition and previews of upcoming work from studios including Pixar, Universal and Netflix.
The festival will open on June 21 with the world premiere of Pierre Coffin’s Minions & Monsters, ahead of its worldwide rollout from July 1 through Universal. It is the seventh feature in the Despicable Me/Minions franchise, and follows the miniature yellow creatures in the 1920s as they search for creatures for their monster movie, but must then save the planet after unleashing monsters.
It continues a long-running partnership between Annecy and Minions producers Illumination Entertainment, with many of the company’s films teased and screened at the festival and founder Chris Meledandri receiving a lifetime achievement award in 2023.
Studio showcases again form a prominent part of the Annecy lineup. Pixar Animation Studios will present a behind-the-scenes look at Enrico Casarosa’s Gatto, following black cat Nero as he explores the canal-ridden, superstitious city of Venice.
The Next on Netflix showcase will include The Incredibles and Ratatouille director Brad Bird offering a personal insight to his upcoming animated feature Ray Gunn, which has a voice cast including Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits; while showrunners Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan will show a preview of the animated Ghostbusters series, releasing in 2027.
Netflix will also show a sneak peek at the first two episodes of series Alley Cats, alongside a masterclass from creator and voice cast member Ricky Gervais. The show follows a group of feral British cats struggling to survive in an uncaring human world.
The 11-strong official competition for international feature titles includes Sebastien Laudenbach’s 2D computer-animated Viva Carmen!, about a man who returns to Seville where he attempts to save a adolescent woman with a captivating voice.
It is one of several titles headed to Annecy in June from a Cannes launch in May, in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar. Also making the journey north from the French Riviera are Olivier Clert’s Lucy Lost, about a adolescent girl with an extraordinary gift, who lives on an isolated island, which plays as a Family Screening at Cannes; and Cannes Critics’ Week opener In Waves from director Phuong Mai Nguyen.
The Annecy selection was presented at a press conference at France’s Centre National du Cinema in Paris, by CNC president Gaetan Bruel, Mickael Marin, CEO of Annecy organising body CITIA, Veronique Encrenaz, director of the MIFA market, and Annecy artistic director Marcel Jean.
More to follow.
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