International Insider: Animated In Annecy

Hello again, Insiders. The heat was on literally and figuratively this week as the Annecy International Animation Festival and Cannes Lions took place under a scorching sun in Europe. Jesse Whittock here to guide you through the best of it. Sign up to the newsletter here.

Animated In Annecy

Studios turn up for toons: While this year’s Cannes will be remembered as ‘the one where the studios were a bit quiet,’ the same cannot be said for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The big American studios and streamers were out in force this week by the French lakeside and in the searing heat. There was a wealth of content on show aiming to prove that, despite numerous challenges, the genre remains towering. Toy Story producer Bonnie Arnold set the tone nicely during a day one masterclass when she hit back at animation snobs. “Our films make more money than their films,” she said. And that was that. From the opening night’s Minions & Monsters movie onwards, there was plenty of big studio fare and lower-budget arty work to go around, while the likes of Peter Safran, Ricky Gervais and Chris Meledandri were in town, and DreamWorks showed off the buzzy Forgotten Island. The streamers in particular were keen to push a range of content. Prime Video hosted its first ever Annecy focus masterclass, while Netflix was talking Ghostbusters, Ray Gunn, In Waves and plenty more. Anime felt particularly in demand. Netflix held a separate anime in focus session for the first time and there was a feeling that buyers are keen to introduce the genre into more of their future work. There was also lots of chatter about how best to integrate the of-the-moment horror genre into animation. Melanie broke this big one about an untitled Dan Trachtenberg animated comedy horror based on the indie comic Freddy the 13th. Annecy is not only a crucial date in the animation calendar, but is fast becoming one of the most crucial dates in the TV and film industry calendar as a whole. Find all our coverage here, including our latest Global Breakout.

Pride Of Lions

Lions share: With content creators, brands and producers all moving closer together, the importance of Cannes Lions has been building for a number of years. Marketers, content creators, entertainment moguls and more were in the south of France this week for the huge ads, brands and creative industries get-together. The likes of Jeffrey Katzenberg, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, podcaster Alex Cooper and Jerry Bruckheimer flew in – some for public talks, others for quieter soirées away from the cameras. One big draw was Eddy Cue, the services and entertainment chief at Apple, who was feted at the fest before taking to the stage to talk with Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The pair appeared to confirm a sequel to F1: The Movie. Elsewhere, Oprah discussed Whitney Houston and Chopra Jonas talked about the unexpected success of her female-focused pirate movie The Bluff for Prime Video. After discussing the virtues of sex tapes for older actors, Alan Cumming was waxed lyrical about how the queer-meets-gothic aesthetic of The Traitors – and his clothing – had helped the Peacock series become a huge hit. There’s no chance Cannes Lions will be the next one banished from the game if this year is anything to go by.

The End For Edinburgh

Well, I will move 200 miles: End of an era stuff up in Scotland, where the Edinburgh Television Festival is coming to a close after 50 years. The fest’s organizers are upping sticks and moving more than 200 miles south to join the British Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester in 2027. There are good reasons for leaving – the Fringe festival running parallel to the TV event in August makes accommodation wildly expensive and there’s an argument the event is past its heyday, at least in terms of industry significance. However, there is certainly a portion of the British TV industry who are very sceptical about Manchester as an alternative, with many pointing to the alchemy between the Fringe, where many comedy stars are still found, and the television fest – U.S. agents are often in town and I’m not convinced they’ll be headed down to England’s second city (third city, if you ask anyone from Birmingham). Deadline will see you for one final Edinburgh Morning in late August.

The Insider Interview: Tiziana Rocca

Less than two weeks after the Taormina Film Festival wrapped, the Sicilian fest’s Artistic Director, Tiziana Rocca, is on to her next event on another picturesque Italian island. Filming Sardegna Italy, which she founded nine years ago, kicked off yesterday at Forte Village in Cagliari, Sardinia. It’s a rare feat for a festival head to be launching two international events back-to-back, but Rocca tells Diana Lodderhose that she’s able to balance the two summer events because of their different focuses. >>>Read The Interview

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Disney+ is teaming with A24 UK for the first time on dark comedy-drama series Dad, with Clem Garritty, who created Showtime pilot Jonah Kills, attached to write.

🌶️ Another Hot One: Channel 4 and See-Saw Films are developing a TV series adaptation of Benedict Lombe’s history-making play Shifters, which is about to transfer to A24’s Cherry Lane Theatre.

🔥 A third: Jamie Adams is currently shooting his next feature film, Tangled Up in Blue, in Wales and was spotted framing up Quentin Tarantino and Kylie Minogue, who are set to star in the film.

🚆 Nearly there: Sky and ITV look set to announce terms of the £1.6B ($2.1B) acquisition deal that will bring the two broadcasters together and shake up British broadcasting.

🏆 Productions mean prizes: Richard Gadd will receive the Maximo Breakthrough Storyteller Award at the Italian Global Series event in Rimini.

🏕️ Fest latest: Dustin Hoffman, Juliette Binoche, Jeffrey Wright and Platoon cinematographer Robert Richardson will be honored at the upcoming edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

🎭 Theaterland: Mari, the events company founded last year by Ari Emanuel, is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire West End and Broadway theater giant ATG Entertainment for £4.5B ($6B).

⬇️ Going down: Cinema admissions dropped 4.4% across Europe to 873.2 million in 2025, according to a new report published by the International Union of Cinemas.

✏️ Sharpened: Doc McStuffins producer Brown Bag Films has launched Bad Pencil Animation, a new label that will make animated shows for grown-ups.

🍿 Box office: Toy Story 5 opened with a $312M worldwide weekend opening and continued to wrack up the numbers ever since.

Photo of the Week

Right on Cue – Eddy Cue took to the red carpet with Jerry Bruckheimer for the Cannes Lions Entertainment Person of the Year, which honored the Apple executive.