Annecy 2024: Swiss Stop-Motion Short ‘Into the Forest’ Wins Young Audience Award
The prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival has once again cemented its reputation as the global epicenter for groundbreaking animation, crowning Swiss filmmaker Antonin Niclass’s latest stop-motion short, Into the Forest (Dans la forêt), with the coveted Young Audience Award. Produced by Milos-Films and crafted at the renowned Hélium Films’ studios in Lausanne, Switzerland, the film captivated both young viewers and industry professionals alike with its poignant, meta-narrative exploration of creativity and escapism.
A Meta-Narrative of Creative Freedom
Into the Forest follows three meticulously handcrafted monkey puppets who awaken inside a cold, sterile animation studio. Restlessly awaiting their animator’s return, the trio utilizes the power of collective imagination to transform their rigid, grey workspace into a lush, vibrant jungle. Through this tactile journey, Niclass constructs a love letter to the painstaking art of stop-motion animation itself.
The film’s thematic depth and technical execution resonated strongly with the festival’s youth jury. By juxtaposing the clinical, fluorescent-lit environment of an production studio with the warm, dappled sunlight of an imagined rainforest, the short serves as a powerful metaphor for resilience and the boundless nature of the human—and puppet—spirit.
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Key Production Details:
• Director: Antonin Niclass
• Production Company: Milos-Films
• Animation Studio: Hélium Films (Lausanne, Switzerland)
• Award: Young Audience Award (Prix Public Jeune Public)
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A Rising Voice in European Animation
Director Antonin Niclass is no stranger to critical acclaim. He previously garnered international attention and a BAFTA film award for his heartwarming National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduation short, Do Not Feed the Pigeons. With Into the Forest, Niclass continues to refine his signature style of character-driven, highly textured stop-motion.
"With this film, we wanted to explore the delicate boundary between the physical constraints of the animator’s desk and the limitless worlds these puppets inhabit once the cameras stop rolling," Niclass reflected during the festival. "Winning the Young Audience Award is incredibly meaningful because children instinctively understand the power of play and imagination as a survival tool."
Switzerland's Growing Stop-Motion Legacy
The success of Into the Forest also highlights the strength of the Swiss animation ecosystem. Lausanne-based Hélium Films has quietely become a premier hub for stop-motion in Europe, fostering local talent and collaborating on internationally recognized co-productions.
As the Annecy Festival wraps up another historic edition, the accolades for Into the Forest position Niclass and his creative team at the forefront of the contemporary stop-motion renaissance, proving that traditional, hand-crafted cinema continues to hold a magical sway over audiences of all ages.