At the festival, Lee, the director of “Frozen,” and Ocelot, the director of “Kirikou,” will receive Honorary Cristal awards.

Jennifer Lee and Michel Ocelot will receive the Honorary Cristal at the Annecy International Animation Festival, which takes place June 13-18 in Annecy, France 

“The return of the Annecy Festival to its pre-pandemic state is the reason behind awarding two Honorary Cristals, one each to two exceptional personalities who have marked the recent history of animation film, on both sides of the Atlantic,” said the Festival’s artistic director Marcel Jean of the presentation of these rare honors.

Lee, who will get her Cristal on June 17, is the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and earned an Oscar for Disney’s Frozen.

“As the creative head of the near-century old Walt Disney Animation Studios, and writer and director of the Frozen films, Jennifer Lee is a model for all young women (and men) with aspirations of pursuing a career in animation film,” said Jean. “Her accomplishments are exceptional in terms of scriptwriting, directing and creatively leading Disney Animation. We can confirm that there is a before and after Jennifer Lee in the way that women creators are perceived in our industry. Therefore, Annecy would like to highlight her remarkable contribution.”

Ocelot, a writer/director whose credits include Kirikou and Dilili in Paris, will be awarded the Honorary Cristal on June 14 during a screening of his latest film Le Pharaon, le Sauvage et la Princesse.

Said Jean, “By creating the character Kirikou in 1998, Michel Ocelot gave the impetus needed to launch the animation feature film industry in France. Today it’s an entire community of animation filmmakers, producers and artists who are indebted to him. By honoring him today, the Festival acknowledges the role he played in the actual development of Annecy.”