France is widely known for its innovative filmmaking with greats like Lumiere, Truffaut, Godard, Gondry, and Noé. But if you’ve been caught up in the excitement around Noé, you might have missed France’s lesser known but arguably more influential revolution to forever change animated storytelling. This insurgence has been ignited largely by the ambition of two schools, Gobelins and Supinfocom, both of which harbor an unnatural talent to produce award-winning animated films year after year. Though credit must go to the students who clearly pour blood, sweat, and tears into their masterpieces. They bring a beautiful watercolor painting to life in Un Tour de Manege and have us rooting for an unlikely hero in Oktapodi. The level of visual polish and devotion to storyline put these films much closer to Pixar than student work.

France’s professional world has also done well. Most notably Logorama which earned this year’s Oscar for best animated short over the more traditional Wallace and Grommit. Our favorite short from last year, Skhizein, comes from the rising French star, Jeremy Clapin, who also did Une Histore Vertebrale. And there’s no sign of a slow down. Expect to see more French animated features like The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist brought to the world as this revolution spreads.

Sit back, grab a baguette, and enjoy.

Duration: 65 min