Featured image courtesy of CreaZion Studios.
ANNECY, France — Following an announcement of its official lineup for this year’s edition, Filipino animated feature ZsaZsa Zaturnnah is set to make its international premiere at leading animation feature film event, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this June.
Directed by Filipino animation auteur Avid Liongoren and co-produced by Rocketsheep Studio and CreaZion Studios Inc., the film’s selection signals a major step forward for Philippine animation on the global stage.
Blending humor, spectacle, and bold LGBTQ+ representation, the animated film reimagines a beloved Filipino cultural icon with its unapologetically local voice and universal themes of identity, transformation, and heroism in an entirely new form.
Annecy’s recognition places the film in its Midnight Specials category, alongside the most innovative works in global animation from Belgium, Germany, Japan, and South Korea—further cementing the growing presence of Southeast Asian storytelling in international cinema.
Of note, in the Contrechamp section of the festival, fellow Filipino filmmaker Carl Joseph Papa makes a return to the premier festival, a third for the filmmaker, with 58th, a non-fiction animated film on the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, following his 2024 appearance with The Missing.
Animation stills courtesy of CreaZion Studios.
With Liongoren’s interpretation of the acclaimed loved media-crossing character, he brings his distinct voice in blending independent sensibilities with ambitious visual storytelling. He was a key creative force behind Saving Sally, a groundbreaking Filipino film that combined live-action and animation, earning critical acclaim for its inventive approach and emotional depth. The film toured international festivals and became a touchstone for a new wave of Filipino genre storytelling.
Liongoren’s body of work reflects a commitment to original IP, youth culture, and outsider narratives, often exploring themes of identity, imagination, and transformation. His creative process—frequently shaped by long development cycles and grassroots support—has long since positioned him as a filmmaker who thrives outside conventional studio systems.
Developed over six years, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah represents the evolution of that journey: a larger-scale project that retains his signature voice while pushing into more expansive, globally resonant storytelling.
On the emotional journey behind the film, he writes, “Birthing a film into the world is terrifying. Our team has worked so hard the past 6 years & our work will be judged in one sitting. Making a queer super hero film sounds fun until you realize that it is so niche that no business entities would be willing to back it. But we kept working despite the countless rejections & we slowly gained support from really kind folks.”
For co-producer CreaZion Studios, the film reflects its mission to bring Filipino stories to a global audience. Anter “RJ” San Agustin, CEO of CreaZion Studios, shares in a press statement, “ZsaZsa Zaturnnah represents exactly the kind of storytelling we believe in—bold, original, and proudly Filipino. Its journey to Annecy proves that our stories can resonate far beyond our borders, and this is only the beginning of building Filipino IP for the global stage.”
Watch trailer below:
See the full Annecy lineup below:
Competition
Viva Carmen!, dir. Sébastien Laudenbach, (France)
Iron Boy, dir. Louis Clichy, (France, Belgium)
Decorado, dir. Alberto Vázquez, (Spain)
The Sunrise File, dir. Rupert Wyatt, Émilie Phuong, (France, Luxembourg)
In Waves, dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen, (France, Belgium)
Lucy Lost, dir. Olivier Clert, (France)
Nobody, dir. Shui Yu, (China)
Tana, dir. Ji Zhao, Ke Er Zhu, (China)
Tangles, dir. Leah Nelson, (Canada, USA)
The Violonist, dir. Ervin Han, Raúl García, (Singapore, Spain, Italy)
We Are Aliens, dir. Kohei Kadowaki, (Japan, France)
Contrechamp
58th, dir. Carl Joseph Papa, (Philippines)
A New Dawn, dir. Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, (Japan, France)
Blaise, dir. Dimitri Planchon, Jean-Paul Guigue, (France)
O filho da puta, dir. Érica Maradona, Otto Guerra, Tania Anaya, Sávio Leite, (Brazil)
Muyi, dir. Julien Chheng, (France)
Pelelui: Guernica of Paradise, dir. Goro Kuji, (Japan)
The Orbit of Minor Satellites, dir. Christopher Sullivan, (Japan)
Spacetime Chronicles, dir. Stefano Bertelli, (Italy)
The Obsessed, dir. Wataru Takahashi, (Japan)
Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope, dir. Beñat Beitia, Elio Quiroga, (Spain, Chile, Argentina)
Welcome to Dolly’s House, dir. Seven Ych, Rady Fu, Tree Muta, (Taiwan)
Midnight Specials
Company Sports Day, dir. Yong-Seon Lee, (South Korea)
Gregor, dir. Manu Gomez, (Belgium, France)
Sekiro: No Defeat, dir. Kenichi Kutsuna, (Japan)
Soul Shift, dir. Christian Franz Schmidt, (Germany)
Zsazsa Zaturnnah, dir. Avid Liongoren, (Philippines, France)
Annecy Presents
Brave Cat, dir. Gabriel Osorio, (Chile)
Julián, dir. Louise Bagnall, (Ireland)
Born in the Jungle, dir. Edmunds Jansons, (Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic)
Dante, dir. Linda Hambäck, (Sweden, Denmark, Norway)
The Promise of the Clock Tower, dir. Yusuke Hirota, (Japan)
Dudley & the Invasion of the Space Slugs, dir. Cherifa Bakhti, (Luxembourg, Belgium, France, India)
The Ribbon Hero, dir. Yuki Igarashi, (Japan)
La Fille dans les nuages, dir. Philippe Riche, (France, Belgium)
Little Trang Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Buffalo, dir. Tranh Lam Tung, (Vietnam)
The Last Whale Singer, dir. Reza Memari, (Germany, Czech Republic, Canada)
Monster Mia, dir. Verena Fels, (Austria, Spain, Germany)
Samurai Ballerina – L’Étoile de Paris en fleur, dir. Goro Tanigushi, (Japan)
The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, dir. Tomohiko Ito, (Japan)
Yugly, dir. Yanis Belaid, Jérémie Degruson, (Belgium)
WTF
Babyface, (United Kingdom)
Broc!, (Hong Kong)
I’m Glad I Know That Now Thank You: Phones, (United Kingdom)
I Have an I Have a, (United Kingdom)
I’d Rather Be a Concorde, (Belgium, Finland, Portugal)
King Kong vs. Pinocchio, (Canada)
We’re Kinda Different, (Canada)
Pigeon Businessman, (United States)
Six Finger Satellite “Simian Fever”, (United States)
Skin Flick, (France)
Smokedog, (Australia)
You Are Not Part of the Cake, (Taiwan, United Kingdom)
What Is, Is Now?, (The Netherlands)
cour.com, (United Kingdom)
Off-Limits
Adage, (United Kingdom)
Core Dump, (Germany)
From Apple to Egg, (Estonia)
The Stars Have Been Watching Us for a Long Time, (United States)
Merrimundi, (Chile)
Symbionts, (Switzerland)
XYZ, (Portugal)
Evacuations, (United States)
Young Audience
A Dog’s Life, (The Netherlands)
Round Trip, (Italy)
Cosmonaut, (Switzerland)
En, Ten, Týky!, (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Night Owls, (Switzerland)
Piccolo Piccolo, (France, Switzerland)
Cloudfish, (France, Belgium)
On the Doormat in Front of My Door, (Germany)
Towards the Forest, (Switzerland)
Being Distanced, (Unknown)
Perspectives
Acid City, (United States)
Bucketman, (Japan)
That Night, (Iran, United States)
Chance, (Iran)
Decaer’s Downfall, (Colombia)
Entelechia, (Chile)
Paper Daughter, (United States)
The Comet, (Canada)
The Boa Woman, (Peru)
The Tribulations of Ajadi, (Nigeria)
Misophonia, (Malta)
Because Today Is Saturday., (Portugal, France, Spain)
Rest, (Japan)
Sundruð, (Iceland, France, Belgium)
Three Pariah Cats, (Colombia)
Once in a Body, (Colombia, United States)
City of Roses, (Brazil)
Off-Limits
Adage, (United Kingdom)
Core Dump, (Germany)
From Apple to Egg, (Estonia)
The Stars Have Been Watching Us for a Long Time, (United States)
Merrimundi, (Chile)
Symbionts, (Switzerland)
XYZ, (Portugal)
Evacuations, (United States)
Young Audience
A Dog’s Life, (The Netherlands)
Round Trip, (Italy)
Cosmonaut, (Switzerland)
En, Ten, Týky!, (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Night Owls, (Switzerland)
Piccolo Piccolo, (France, Switzerland)
Cloudfish, (France, Belgium)
On the Doormat in Front of My Door, (Germany)
Towards the Forest, (Switzerland)
Being Distanced, (Unknown)
Annecy International Animation Film Festival runs from June 21, 27, 2026
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