Accreditation
Now that your flights and accommodation are sorted, the next step is purchasing an accreditation, a prerequisite for attending both the festival and MIFA.
A festival badge is mandatory for all festival and industry events. In order to get one, you must purchase an accreditation in advance, online. This serves as your ticket to the festival/MIFA. There are various types of accreditation available, but the most relevant ones for readers of this article are:
- Festival
- Festival+
- Students
- MIFA
Festival Badges, 2022
Each accreditation offers access to a different set of events and benefits, as detailed on annecyfestival.com.
Given the varied offerings and pricing, it’s essential to carefully consider your needs before making a purchase (accreditations aren’t cheap).
Now let’s dive in.
The charts on the festival’s website detail which offers and benefits are available for each type of accreditation. Unfortunately, the different offers aren’t all consolidated into a single table, which would have simplified the comparison, so we’ll try to do it here, in this article.
The table is divided into three sections: Festival (festival events), MIFA (industry events) and Connected Area (the festival’s online system and database).
Note that the V only marks which offers need to be pre booked, not which are available.
Let’s compare section by section:
Festival
All four main types of accreditation offer similar access to festival events, except for Work In Progress events, which are unavailable for Festival badge holders.
MIFA
There’s significant variation in access levels between different accreditation types for MIFA events. MIFA accreditation provides full access to all events, with most requiring pre-booking. Student accreditation offers slightly less, followed by Festival+ and then Festival, which provides minimal industry-related access.
Festival accreditation:
This accreditation doesn’t include access to Industry Content events but offers talent content and entry to the top floor of the MIFA marquee, hosting recruitment, tech, software, hardware, and school stands. However, access to the lower floor, where most stands are located, is not included.
Festival+ accreditation:
In addition to similar access to the MIFA exhibition (top floor only) and talent events, Festival+ offers several industry content events, excluding pitching sessions.
Student accreditation:
This accreditation adds access to the lower floor of the MIFA marquee, where most of the stands are, but for one day only. The badge is marked upon entry, permitting multiple entries and exits on the selected day, but on that day only. No need to schedule your MIFA day in advance.
MIFA accreditation:
This accreditation grants full access to all industry, talent, and MIFA events and sessions, with most requiring pre-booking.
The Israeli booth, MIFA 2022
Connected Area
The third section relates to the Connected Area, offering access to various features of the festival’s online system. While this might not be the primary factor in choosing accreditation, it’s worth noting that MIFA and Festival+ provide more pre-booking options (securing tickets to highly desired events, like masterclasses featuring famous creators, can be hard). MIFA and Festival+ badge holders can secure up to three events per day, while students and Festival badge holders are limited to two. Additionally, only MIFA accreditation holders have access to the online video library and can apply to recruitment sessions.
Meeting in the Israeli stand, MIFA 2023
In summary, students are advised to opt for the Student accreditation, offering substantial benefits at a reasonable price. Festival attendees primarily interested in film screenings should choose the Festival accreditation, or Festival+ if some industry content is desired, understanding the limitation of access to the main area of the MIFA conference hall. For business-focused attendees, the MIFA accreditation is recommended.
Upon arrival in Annecy, visit the administration center outside Bonlieu before attending any festival events to collect your festival badge, which will serve as your festival ID throughout the event. This badge, featuring your photo and accreditation type, must be presented for entry to festival events.
A glass of wine by the lake,
taken from a balcony at the Imperial Hotel
Have you read Part 1 of our guide to Annecy Film Festival?
The Hive’s Unofficial Guide To Annecy International Animation Film Festival – Part 1
*Top image: The backdrop of the Israeli Stand, MIFA 2023, designed by Neta Holzer
