The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market is one of the oldest and the most important animated film festivals in Europe. Every year, it gathers over 150,000 viewers and becomes a meeting place for animated film professionals from around the world. Films featured during Annecy compete for the title of best short film, best TV and commissioned film, as well as best graduation film – and the winners receive the Cristal Award.
Awarded for its music, Joko by Izabela Plucińska’s presents a grotesque vision of eternal exploitation and human dominance, filled with absurd humour and macabre. The titular Joko is a young man who supports his entire family by working on a cistern. On the second anniversary of his employment, Joko and his colleagues are surprised by a visit from unidentified delegates who order them to… carry them on their backs. Initially, Joko rebels against such a humiliating practice, but – under the pressure of his peers and the desire to earn money – he gives in. The delegates begin to increasingly dominate the young man. Red blisters appear on his back, and one of the carried guests can’t get off his back. Every subsequent delegate who touches Joko sticks to him permanently.
The list of all awarded films can be found here.