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Annecy with its International Festival of Animation has always been an extraordinary place worth going to, either for professionals and students.

This year “Le Chat du Rabbin” (The Rabbi’s Cat) won the Cristal for Best Feature. The film is about a rabbi, his daughter and a talking cat. Crazy Russians dreaming of the promised land, and Algeria, Africa and the promise of adventure. “Le Chat du Rabbin” is produced by Autochenille Production, France 2 Cinéma, TF1 International and Antoine Delesvaux, and directed by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux.
Whereas the Special Distinction and the Audience awards went to “Colourful”, a Japanese film representing a spirit winning the chance to live a second time and learn from its mistakes. The film is produced by Fuji Television Network Inc. and directed by Keiichi Hara.

But Annecy is a really special place also because beside the Festival an International Animation Film Market (MIFA) has become a year’s destination for many professionals and companies from everywhere.
MIFA has actually been bringing more than 2000 people from 70 countries to France for the past 26 years.

With an 8% increase on last year's attendance, 450 listed companies and 238 buyers, once again this year Mifa has been a very successful edition: professionals (producers, directors, broadcasters, buyers and distributors) from the animation industry have had three days to meet, finalise projects and seek out funding.

Annecy is also a place particularly meant for young people trying their way towards the animation profession. A very important section of the event is the Carrefour de la Création, which hosts the Creative Focus, with interesting project presentations and meetings between professionals and companies. As for the recruitment sessions, this year they provided a rich exchange: 22 companies from around the world were represented, including the United States, the leading global producer of animated films, followed by Japan and France. Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios were highly sought out by some 600 students who had applied for interviews during the Festival.

The 2011 conferences followed the trend and achieved a record-breaking attendance, fulfilling thier goal of responding to their ambition of transmitting professional experiences, reflecting on certain strategic issues, and bringing together both established and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with common interests.