Still: Danse Macabre - Hisko Hulsing

Hisko Hulsing is returning to Annecy with his latest work, the short Danse Macabre: an apocalyptic nightmare about war, based on music by Dmitri Shostakovich. The celebrated director of acclaimed animated works like The Sandman – Dream of a Thousand Cats (2022 bonus short for the Netflix series), Undone (2019 - 2022 - series for Prime Video), documentary Montage of Heck and short Junkyard* will world premiere in the Short Competition. The short is produced by Valk Productions in coproduction with Autour de Minuit (FR), Cinemon (HU) and Vivi Film (BE). Sales are handled by Autour de Minuit and festival distribution by Studio Wasia. See NL hopped on the ferry with Hisko Hulsing to find out more about the way he works and how Danse Macabre came to be. Watch the full interview here. 

Also selected for the Short Film Competition are minority co-productions Water Girl*, also with Valk Productions on board. In the run up to the world premiere at Cannes this year, Richard Valk talked to See NL. And Cartoon Physics* coproduced by Erik Verkerk and Joost van den Bosch for Ka-Ching Cartoons. The producing team of Ka-Ching told See NL more about their collaboration with Ru Kawahata and Max Porter on their animation in this interview. 

A Dog’s Life* by Sytske Kok en Sophie Olga de Jong continues its festival run in Annecy’s Short Film Competition - Youth Audiences, following selections for Stuttgart ITFS and IndieLisboa last month. The short produced by Spotted Bird tells the story of Luna who helps with the burial when Grandma’s dog Stella dies. But what is exactly happening when you are dead and six feet under? Grandma evades the answer, so Luna is tempted to see for herself what’s going on down there. See NL caught up with the directing duo on their way to Annecy, read the full interview here. 

What Is, Is Now*, a stop motion animation by Jikke Lesterhuis and coproduced by Valk Productions and 5 A.M. Studios, is selected for the Short Film Competition – WTF section. A bird restaurant nestled on a sandbank in the Wadden Sea thrives in harmony with the tide. All visitors eat and are eaten, until a single footstep throws everything off balance. See NL spoke with the director in dept about her work, read the interview here. 

Kaboom Distribution handles festival distribution for both What Is, Is now and A Dog’s Life.

Eddy Wu’s graduation film for MIVC St. Joost Immature is competing in the Short Film Competition – Graduation Films. The short animated documentary explores gender identity through the lens of body imagery. The film delves into the evolving perceptions of a transgender gay man, highlighting the fluidity and complexity of gender identity. Earlier festival selections include Kaohsiung FF, Animator Poznan, Animateka Ljubljana and Animist Talinn.

And as part of the TV films competition Pol the Pirate Mouse – Cave Monster is selected, an episode of the complete series that had its premiere at Cinekid last year.  Bouwine Pool, director and creator of the series (produced by Submarine) talked with See NL on the occasion of Series in the Spotlight. Watch the full interview here.

Selected in the Immersive competition is Lesbian Simulator*, Iris van der Meule’s interactive artwork and video game which will immerse the user in the experiences of a lesbian girl. It’s an ode to sexual preference and love with a serious issue: the discrimination that lesbians still face today. Studio Biarritz produced the work with Art et Essai (CA) and Cassette for Timescapes (BE). The selection for Annecy follows festival selections for among others SXSW and IDFA. We spoke to Iris van der Meule about the work before IDFA, watch the interview here.

Also selected for this competition is A Long Goodbye, minority coproduced by Valk Productions.

For more information about the festival click here. For an overview of all interviews with Dutch filmmakers heading to Annecy and screening times of the Dutch productions click here. 

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*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund