The Chinese animated feature Nobody has been selected for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival's official feature film competition, one of the festival's most prestigious sections, organizers announced in late April.
The festival, which was established in 1960, is held annually in France and is globally recognized as the premier animation film festival.
The 2026 edition is scheduled to take place from June 21 to June 27.
Produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Shanghai Film Infinity, Nobody, or Langlang Shan Xiao Yaoguai in Chinese (The Little Monsters of Langlang Mountain) is a feature-length spin-off of the acclaimed animated short film anthology Yao-Chinese Folktales. It was released domestically on Aug 2 and achieved phenomenal success with a cumulative box office of 1.72 billion yuan ($252 million), setting a new all-time record for Chinese 2D animated films.
Written and directed by Yu Shui, the film follows a little pig monster, an outcast neglected by his boss, who inadvertently forms a grassroots counterfeit-pilgrimage team.
The group embarks on an absurd, self-styled journey to the West, hoping to receive immortality from Buddha. The film explores universal themes of family, friendship, growth, and dreams.
The competition section of the Annecy Festival is renowned for its stringent artistic standards and forward-looking industry vision, representing one of the highest benchmarks in global animation.
According to Shanghai Film Infinity, a subsidiary of Shanghai Film Group, the selection of the film is a significant milestone that not only marks another prominent showcase for Chinese animation artistry on the world stage but also opens a core channel to the global market, promising broader international attention and potential cooperation opportunities.
Following its domestic triumph, Nobody has begun its international release, opening in markets including Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and the North American countries.
Its overseas performance has been notably strong in Vietnam, where it has already entered the top five highest-grossing Chinese-language films of all time.
Nobody continues a historic connection between Chinese animation and the Annecy Festival that dates back to 1962, when Tadpoles Looking for Mother, one of the world's first ink-wash animated short films, produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio, amazed audiences with its unique techniques and won the Children's Film Award at Annecy.
