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Animated horror film 'Climbing' to compete in Annecy Film Fest
  • May 24, 2021

Animated horror film 'Climbing'
to compete in Annecy Film Fest

Updated : 2021-05-24 10:04
 

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Korea's animated horror film, "Climbing," has been invited to the Contrechamp competition at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The AIAFF in France is considered as one of the big four international animated film festivals along with the Ottawa International Animated Film Festival in Canada, the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in Japan and the Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films in Croatia.

Directed by Kim Hye-mi, "Climbing" centers around a professional climber named Choi Se-hyeon who finds out she is pregnant just before the Climbing World Championship. Unwilling to give up on her dream due to the baby, Se-hyeon is under extreme stress. One day, Se-hyeon connects with her alter ego through an old phone and experiences strange things.

Last year, director Ahn Jae-huun's "The Shaman Sorceress," which depicts the breakdown of a traditional family following a clash between shamanism and Christianity, won the Contrechamp Jury Distinction Award.

In 2004, director Sung Baek-yeop's "Oseam," which revolves around a five-year-old boy's journey with his blind sister to find their mother, won the Cristal Award for Best Feature in the Feature Films Competition.

Meanwhile, director Erick Oh's Oscar-nominated short film, "Opera," has been invited to compete in the Short Films in Competition section. The nine-minute film reflects on human life with the camera moving up and down a pyramid-shaped world. It is comprised of 24 different sections that are filled with separate stories and symbolism.

In 2018, Oh's "Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems" won the Cristal Award in the TV Series section.

The 45th Annecy International Animated Film Festival will take place from June 14 to 19 and be held in a hybrid format ― a combination of in-person events with virtual components ― due to COVID-19 concerns. "Climbing" will hit local theaters, June 16.