Escape Studios at Annecy Animation Festival 2026

Escapees at Annecy 2026 

A group of intrepid Escapees and current students, as well as some of our some of our recent graduates, travelled to the 2026 Annecy Animation Festival last week.

Braving the heatwave, they spent a week at the world's leading animation event, going to screenings, attending events and talks, and making contacts in the global animation industry.

Annecy 2026

Escapees at Annecy

Our recent graduate Saif Hoque took a series of photographs from the event. 

The Annecy Animation Festival takes place annually at the north end of a picturesque lake near the Swiss/French border, the so-called "Venice of the Alps", and boasts some stunning scenery. 

Screenings

Escapees arrive at Annecy

Annecy serves as a lovely back drop for the hugely popular outdoor screenings that supplement the official screenings inside the expansive cinema at the main venue. 

The program of films at Annecy are always extensive and eclectic, and have included the feature length 2d animated film Kensuke's Kingdom by Neil Boyle, who recently delivered an excellent presentation on the at one of our "An Evening With" events here at Escape Studios.

Annecy Festival
Annecy is the premier animation Festival of the animation calendar, it is comparable to the Cannes Film Festival in animation terms. Or to view it in tennis terms, if the Grand Slam events are the French Open, the US Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon, then in the animation calendar there is Zagreb, Stuttgart, Hiroshima, and Annecy. 

Annecy 2027

Lake Annecy

Escape is planning to make an official trip to Annecy in 2027, which will be open to all our students. We will make an announcement as soon as the autumn term of the new academic year begins, to welcome everyone back. 

We look forward to making further announcements about this up coming event as soon as the new terms starts, so watch this space!

--- Kevin Richards

Annecy Top Ten Survival Rules

To see our Top Ten Survival Rules for the Annecy Film Festival, follow this link. 

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for one of our courses, follow this link.