Legendary director Michel Ocelot is this year’s Guest of Honor, and the Festival will open with his groundbreaking feature, Kirikou and the Sorceress, celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Based in Paris, Ocelot has devoted his entire career to animation cinema, drawing inspiration from his own life to create whimsical modern-day fairytales. Born in the Côte D’Azur in France, Michel Ocelot spent his childhood in Guinea, returning to France as an adolescent. He studied decorative arts in Paris before attending CalArts in Los Angeles.

In a conversation with filmmaker Candy Kugel, Ocelot will discuss his career from the critical success of Kirikou and the Sorceress to his most recent feature, Dilili in Paris, which premiered in France in June 2018.

Short films from his early career will also be screened.