Melbourne International Animation Festival 2025: 30 short films from France in the program

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In just 4 weeks the Melbourne International Animation Festival 2025 starts bringing a week of animation on the big screen. Between the various competition programs and the international student program, the festival proposes 30 animated films from France plus the chance to hear one of the film makers from France’s École Supérieure des Metiers Artistiques speak about the making of the short film Rushmore. Read on to discover all of the French films showing at Melbourne International Animation Festival 2025.

International Competition Program 1 : Masters & Returnees

Ceux Pour Qui La Lune Ne Brille Pas
Solene Marche, Lou Thoby, Tom Saurel, Evelyne Philippart, Marie Fantini, Amelie Soto
France, 6’57, 2024
Abandoned on the moon, a poor pup takes matters into his own paws after an unexpected encounter with another lonely creature.

See The Sun Rise In The Moon
Charles Nogier
France, 11’06, 2024
A calmly insistent visualisation of “Les Contemplations”, a cluster of deeply effecting poems by Victor Hugo as he grapples with the loss of his daughter.

Emboucanator
David Renoux, Simon Renoux, Pauline Lisi, Sarah Levacher-Robinet, Hadrien Brenn, Alessandro Lamio
France, 5’49, 2024
The bull-man Emboucanator flees from his marriage to the sheep-woman Culterrine. But he quickly learns that she is not an easy woman to walk (or run) away from!

International Competition Program 2: Digital Extremes

Trash
Gregory Bouzid, Maxime Crancon, Robin Delaporte, Matteo Durand, Romain Fleischer, Alexis Le Ral, Margaux Lutz, Fanny Vecchie
France, 6’48, 2024
Amidst the lowest cracks and grime of the city a dramatic, winner-takes-all battle for the most meagre of prizes erupts.

The Great Annual Party Of The Creatures Of The Moon
Francis Desharnais
Canada, 2’50, 2024
Finally the humans have left the moon – it’s time for the locals to party! A brand new pinscreen animation.

Estive
Muller Rafael, Lazari Mathieu, Camilli Diego, Lemau De Talancé Lancelot, Rocchi Elisa, Pinot Allan, Schaerer Laurine
France, 5’16, 2024
A shepherd overseeing a strange world spends his time milking giant birds to create precious jewels only to come to the attention of all the wrong people.

Rescue
Noemie Alonso, Pauline Luciano, Mauran Perrone, Lea Philibert, Margot Rousval, Gabrielle Terroux
France, 4’49, 2024
When poachers break into a reserve, a young animal keeper named Eli, must save a gigantic, fantastic creature.

Lunar Data Vault
Amandine Bonnanfant, Candice Germe
France, 2’53, 2024
A pitched battle on the surface of the moon gives no time to admire the sights – particularly with a ticking bomb on your chest!

Ye Kou Si Kuo
Lola Lefevre
France, 2’28, 2024
After a wild party in their flat, three hungover friends jam out to their favourite band; and get ready for the next one ! A max-out of sound, colour and design.

International Competition Program 3: Hi-Fi Design

The Night Tunnel
Annechien Strouven
France, 8’58, 2024
Two kids from very different worlds meet while digging a tunnel, on a beach and discover that anything is possible when you turn and face the possibilities.

The Story Of Three Sisters Or How The World Came To Have Four Seasons Instead Of One
Raphaelle Bourgon, Anchi Huang, Vega Lazaro, Son Tra Le, Priyam Parkikh, Jianuo Wen Di Wu
France, 7’09, 2024
Suffocating in her older sister’s flawless system, Mae, a young goddess, questions her tedious work of maintaining an eternal spring.

International Competition Program 4: Hi Estonia and A Bonobo Shout-Out

Between The Gaps
Martin Bonnin
France, 4’07, 2024
A phone call from Tessa propels Clement into an evocative journey through a city of towering shapes and shadowed colours

War Theatre
Arthur Lecocq, Gabriel Delcroix, Arthur Delcroix, Romuald Gouriou, Julien Vanas, Clarence Delehaye, Noëmie Ivelou
France, 6’56, 2024
Some wars are fought with rifles and bombs, some with trumpets and drums; but sooner or later the spotlight illuminates what’s really happening.

International Competition Program 5: It’s Meta Time

Rushmore
Oriane Azzhiri, Sarah Balanger, Alex Bruneau, Eva-luna Delmas, Emeline Guide, Clara Maynard, Tom Perony, Elie Plisson
France, 5’50, 2024
The ultimate prize awaits all those prepared to pay the ultimate price for the ultimate competition. For everyone else it’s the ultimate entertainment.

International Competition Program 6: Character Study Drill Down

Broken Flight
Arthur Jouanny, Jaana Berthelot, Emie Rolland, Sebastien Le Gallic, Alienor Poignand du Fontenioux, Younes Ayan
France, 7’40, 2024
A gorgeously re-imagined, and majestically rendered, flight of one the great pioneer pilots – Antoine de St Éxpury, author of ‘The Little Prince’.

Allegeance
Alex Bajon, Lucie Coste, Charlie Coucoureux, Hindha Kone, Anne Le, Aurore Meyer, Mariette Pons, Eloise Vacher
France, 6’45, 2024
Accompanied by her madman, a queen fulfils all the material wishes of her people. But one day, the queen is faced with a request difficult to fulfil…. happiness!

The Calm Of The Cicadas
Sarah Deredec, Camille Collins, Clemence Ansquer, Juliette Le Hir, Chun-i Cheng, Ambre Muamba, Salome Leroy
France, 5’11, 2024
Counterintuitive or counterproductive? One man’s mission to ensure peace and quiet drives him to create the loudest speakers.

D.S. al Coda
Maxime Wattrelos, Jeremy Trochet, Louis Cocquet, François Mainguet, Emma Feret, Rachel Cuvilliez, Florian Lecocq
France, 8’18, 2024
Consumed by the fear of becoming deaf, Yann draws and memorizes the sounds around him.

International Competition Program 7: Abstract

Glass House
Boris Labbe
France, 5’16, 2024
An immersive video-sonic spectacle invading a glass Tower of Babel inhabited by a human anthill.

Invenzione dell’Invenzione 2 (v. 2)
Jean Detheux
Canada, 2’46, 2024
An abstract animated visualisation of a stunning concert of J.S. Bach compositions performed at Italy’s Teatro Instabile Miela.

International Competition Program 9: The Friday Freaks Parade

Amniotic Dream
Lise Chancel, Joseph Crehange
France, 4’36, 2024
During a nightmare, K finds his parents in monstrous forms. Soon enough blood will flow and the walls will melt away.

Underground Invaders
Shera Courtalhac, Ines Molinier, Victor Lesaffre, Maelle Metaireau, Dana Guyot, Ines Dolivet, Meggie Bernier
France, 8’00, 2024
Three people lost in a deserted subway are gradually engulfed by a mysterious force rising up from the uncharted depths below.

Radio Toaster
Marquis de Sid
France, 8’45, 2024
I’ll be your light, I’ll be your walls, and I’ll be your shadow. The toaster of truth is getting down to business.

Late Night Bizarre

MIAF’s annual cult screening of hyper-alternative crazed films that will weave their magic just the once for us before retreating to whence they emerged.

Primordial Soup
Clementine Donneger, Andreas Demetriou, Mathilde Chauvelot, Hugo Mougel, Charlotte Deux, Patrick Crucke, Thibaud Guillon
France, 6’14, 2024
There’s a hair in the soup! Not to mention fomented fish droppings. But those will be the very least of your worries once this brew comes up to temp.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ANIMATION FESTIVAL AT MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2025

So Long Gropius
Bertille Rondard
France, 4’19, 2024
A young girl becomes friends with a strange lizard and in the process finds herself stepping into a whole new world.
(La Poudriere)

Dare To Be Fabulous
Joao Buosi, Yangjia Chen, Adam Meziane Philipps, Carla Sampaio Da Silva, Xinxin Qin, Zhen Zhou
France, 6’04, 2024
To prove himself to his gangster father, Alessandro decides to rob a bar but inside that bar resides a surprise he could never, ever imagine.
(Gobelins)

The Sound Of Raindrops
Julie Blanc, Estelle Jourdan, Elena Forlini, Gabriel Riera, Lila Trouve, Max Banse, Alvaro Deolio
France, 7’00, 2024
Two young brothers separated by parental conflicts find themselves in the heart of a violent storm they can only overcome together.
(Ecole Georges Méliès)

Sesame
Alix de Clerck, Alice Diop
France, 5’49, 2024
A woman dies of a sesame allergy and, to add insult to injury, in the ultimate twist has to mourn her own death.
(Atelier de Sevres)

Quasar
Theodora Pittaluga
France, 4’54, 2024
During a mission at the borders of a distant planetary system, the astronaut Yoko loses the lucky charm she holds dearly.
(Atelier de Sevres)

How To Make A Friend
Jinfei Ge, Bin He, Myrtille Huet, Julie Jarrier-Stettin, Yuqiang Zhang
France, 7’16, 2024
Moo mourns her deceased friend, so Yuu decides to create a new companion for her.
(Gobelins)

Sunscreen
Xinzhi Ma, Yuan Liu, Yufan Chen, Zixiao Yue
France, 6’22, 2023
After an eternity trapped in a space station after a catastrophic accident Zora begins to hallucinate as she confronts the world around her.
(Gobelins)

Conversation #3: Sarah Balanger, Maker of “Rushmore” (ESMA – France)

Sarah Balanger is one of the team from France’s prestigious Ecole Supérieure des Metiers Artistiques (ESMA), which made the film “Rushmore” which is screening competition in MIAF 25.

The ESMA animation course is a demanding one, annually producing a cohort of French animators who will go on to significant careers as independent and commercial animators.

Sarah will discuss her experience at ESMA making “Rushmore”, her views on the wider world of animation as she sees it and her thoughts on moving from the contained world of creating a student film into the wider space of a professional animator.

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