Artistic director Serge Bromberg hands programming reins over to Canadian animation specialist Marcel Jean.

Romanian Anca Damian’s Crulic – The Path Beyond, capturing the true story of a compatriot who died in a Polish jail after going on hunger strike, has won the Annecy Animation Festival’s Crystal prize for best feature.

Spanish director Ignacio Ferraras’ Wrinkles (Arrugas) — an adaptation of Paco Roca’s comic book about two elderly friends living in a retirement home, one of them in the early stages of Alzheimer — received a special mention.

The public prize went to Laurent Boileau and illustrator Jung Henin’s adaptation of the latter’s graphic novel Approved for Adoption (Couleur de peau: miel).

The hybrid documentary combines animation with live action to capture Henin’s return to his native South Korea for the first time, some 40 years after a Belgian family adopted him as a small boy.

In the festival’s prestigious shorts section, Oscar-nominated Czech director Michaela Pavlátová’s erotic Tram, capturing the fantasies of a ticket collector, won the Crystal for best short. It was made in association with French Sacrebleu productions.

The special jury prize went to Franck Dion’s Edmond Was A Donkey about a quiet man who discovers his real nature after being crowned with donkey’s ears by co-workers.

Danish Johan Oettinger’s Seven Minutes in the Warsaw Ghetto received a special mention and Canadian Issac King’s Second Hand won the public prize.

In other Annecy news, Serge Bromberg stepped down as artistic director at the end of this year’s edition after 14 years at the festival to be replaced by Canadian Marcel Jean.

A critic, filmmaker and producer, Jean headed up the National Film Board of Canada’s Animation and Youth Studio from 1999 to 2005, where he remains attached as a producer to this day. 

Annecy’s international animation market MIFA, running June 6-8, meanwhile, reported a 4.0% increase in attendees, with 470 companies taking stands in comparison with 450 in 2011.

Some 2,500 professionals from 63 countries attended overall, representing a record 1,053 companies.

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