Jennifer Lee and Michel Ocelot will receive the Annecy International Animation Festival’s Honorary Cristal during the upcoming festival, which will be held June 13-18 in Annecy, France.
“The return of the Annecy Festival to its pre-pandemic state is the reason behind awarding two Honorary Cristals, one each to two exceptional personalities who have marked the recent history of animation film, on both sides of the Atlantic,” said the Festival’s artistic director Marcel Jean of the presentation of these rare honors.
Lee, who will be presented her Cristal on June 17, won an Oscar for Disney’s Frozen and serves as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
“As the creative head of the near-century old Walt Disney Animation Studios, and writer and director of the Frozen films, Jennifer Lee is a model for all young women (and men) with aspirations of pursuing a career in animation film,” said Jean. “Her accomplishments are exceptional in terms of scriptwriting, directing and creatively leading Disney Animation. We can confirm that there is a before and after Jennifer Lee in the way that women creators are perceived in our industry. Therefore, Annecy would like to highlight her remarkable contribution.”
Writer/director Ocelot whose credits range from Kirikou to Dilili in Paris, will receive the Honorary Cristal during the screening of his latest film Le Pharaon, le Sauvage et la Princesse on June 14.
Said Jean, “By creating the character Kirikou in 1998, Michel Ocelot gave the impetus needed to launch the animation feature film industry in France. Today it’s an entire community of animation filmmakers, producers and artists who are indebted to him. By honoring him today, the Festival acknowledges the role he played in the actual development of Annecy.”
Source: Hollywood
