Hana & Alice Anime, Yuasa's Adventure Time Episode Compete at Annecy

Miss Hokusai, "The Night of the Naporitan," Shugo Tokumaru "Poker" also competing
The Case of Hana & Alice (Hana to Alice Satsujin Jiken), Shunji Iwai's animated prequel to his 2004 coming-of-age film Hana & Alice, has been selected for the Official Feature Film Competition at the 39th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It will compete with Keiichi Hara and Production I.G'sMiss Hokusai anime.

Established in 1960, Annecy is the world's oldest and largest animation film festival. This year, it runs from June 15 to June 20 at the French community of the same name.

The "Food Chain" episode of Adventure Time by directorMasaaki Yuasa (Ping Pong, Kick-Heart, The Tatami Galaxy) is also competing in the TV Films category. Yusuke Sakamoto's "The Night of the Naporitan" is competing in the Short Films category. Mirai Mizue and Yukie Nakauchi's Shugo Tokumaru "Poker" is competing in the Commissioned Films category.

Finally, three Japanest student films — Sayaka Kihata's "I Can't Breathe," Sawako Kabuki's "Master Blaster," and Shishi Yamazaki's "Tsukiyo & Opal" — are in the Graduation Films category. Annecy will also screen "The Lost Breakfast" short by Q-RAIS out of competition.

Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2007), Hara's Colorful (2011), and Mizuho Nishikubo and Production I.G's Giovanni's Island (2014) all won Jury Distinction prizes at Annecy. However, a Japanese film has not won the festival's top prize, the Grand prix or Le Cristal d'Annecy, since Isao Takahata and Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko did in 1995.