Dandelooo takes Annecy 2024

Dandelooo, the Emmy Award winning animation company based in Paris dedicated to the development, production, and distribution of original and aspiring animated programs (amongst the others Ernest & Celestine, Shoom’s Odyssey, The Treehouse Stories, and Mum is pouring rain), brings three animation events at this year’s Annecy Festival.

The Upside Down River (8 x 22’) is a serialized series adaptation of the cult children’s novel La rivière à l’envers by leading French children’s laureate Jean Claude Mourlevat, winner of the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). Targeted 8 to 12 year-olds, the series follows the meeting of Tomek and Hannah as they journey to the Qjar River. Hannah is on a quest to collect a magic drop to save her bird, while Tomek joins her in search of a lost memory. Their adventures intertwine and ultimately complement each other.

The series has been selected for the Work In Progress (WIP) event and Q&A session that is taking place on Monday 10^th June 2024 at 4:30 pm in the La Salle Pierre Lamy. Director Paul Leluc will lead the WIP, giving an insight into the production, artistic and technical development of this captivating 2D animation series with exclusive extracts highlighting the creative processes.

An outdoor public screening of film Dounia, The Great White North (50′), created by Marya Zarif, directed by André Kadi and produced by Tobo Media and Haut et Court Distribution, is scheduled for Monday 10^th June at 8:00 pm at Le Pâquier d’Annecy. This heartwarming 2D winter Special is aimed at children aged 6 to 9 year-olds and follows the story of 7-year-old Dounia and her grandparents. Forced to leave Syria, they eventually find a new home and make new friends in picturesque Canada.

Hola Frida! (75′) is the first-ever animated feature film about Frida Kahlo’s childhood, targeted towards 5 to 9-year-olds. It portrays the fictional childhood story of Mexico’s iconic artist, capturing the vibrant and imaginative world of young Frida Kahlo in Coyoacan, Mexico. Despite facing challenges, Frida confronts them with an overflowing imagination, bringing to life the spirited journey of a little girl destined to become a legendary artist.

The feature film, directed by Karine Vézina and André Kadi, and produced by Tobo Media (Canada), Du Coup Studio Production (Canada) and Haut et Court Distribution (France), will be showcased with exclusive footage and music at a special screening event on Tuesday 11^th June, at 11:30 am in the La Salle du Bonlieu. The event will feature French pop singer Olivia Ruiz reading a selection of Frida Kahlo’s letters.