French director/screenwriter Manon Tacconi, a former pupil of respected animation faculty La Poudrière, resides the animated dream in Annecy this 12 months.

Her debut quick “La bouche en cœur”—which was nominated on the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand Intl. Quick Movie Pageant—is on observe to turn out to be a cracking 15×7’ animated comedy collection titled “Bitches” (“Garces” in French), after efficiently climbing each step of the classic-yet-selective path of European animation manufacturing.

First introduced at MIFA pitches in 2023, “Bitches” delighted the MIFA jury and acquired the Prix Ciclic, a €25,000 grant and two-month residency.

At Cartoon Springboard, a key launchpad for European co-productions, “Bitches” acquired assist from the French collective SACD (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers), and went on to Cartoon Discussion board a 12 months later, the place professionals from throughout Europe applauded this female-driven, female-led grownup animation endeavor.

“These steps helped us keep a gentle course,” mentioned Tacconi, reflecting on the journey thus far. “It additionally helped me and my staff refine our challenge, hone our pitching abilities and turn out to be extra assured in our capability to convey forth this female-driven story.”

Producer Camille Condemi (Caïmans Productions), who met Tacconi again in Clermont-Ferrand and instantly fell in love with the challenge, now brings this CNC and France Télévisions-backed challenge again to Annecy because the totally developed collection reaches the financing stage. Manufacturing is about to start as quickly as financing is full.

Tacconi’s “Bitches,” Jess and Alana, are two finest mates from Marseille who meet each day at their favourite bar to atone for their glamorous lives. From this easy start line, Tacconi and co-screenwriter Maïté Sonnet weave a story immersed within the luscious, distinct ambiance of the Mediterranean French metropolis.

Turning a brief right into a TV collection may be fairly the problem, even for seasoned writers. But Tacconi and Sonnet noticed this as a chance to broaden on their predominant protagonists, usher in new characters, and add narrative threads to complement the duo’s city universe. Refining the idea and unfolding fastidiously crafted character arcs was key to reworking the quick movie’s heroines into totally developed personalities navigating the challenges of younger grownup life.

“Episodes are crafted from our personal misadventures, experiences and what we predict are the issues of our technology,” defined Tacconi. “We principally write in a café to place ourselves in our characters’ sneakers, and it flows surprisingly properly.”

Early-morning Annecy crowds cheered the dynamic, catchy teaser shared by Tacconi and her staff earlier than diving additional into the wealthy supporting solid orbiting Jess and Alana, from touching Mathis, Alana’s depressive supplier, to Janice and Fanny, the cutest annoying couple.

Casting was key to bringing reality and wit to this Marseille-set story, written by two Paris-based authors. With the assistance of Marseille-based Cendrine Lapuyade, the “Bitches” got here to life because of sharp-witted, highly effective live-action actresses Kenza Fortas (“Shéhérazade”) and Malou Khebizi (“Wild Diamond”).

A mixture of improvisation and scripted dialogue, voice recording proved difficult because the wisecracking duo introduced wild vitality to the studio, turning periods into afternoons of uncontrollable laughter. Finally, the staff returned to a extra page-accurate strategy.

“What we’re aiming for is an actual stability between the 2 characters,” added Sonnet, “whereas all the time preserving a caring, benevolent perspective of our two heroines.”

To match this witty dialogue, the “Bitches” visible model transforms the sunny French metropolis right into a lush setting, mixing 3D backgrounds with vibrant colours and fluid 2D character animation.

Tacconi storyboards every episode totally on paper, modifying the screenplay and boards on the go earlier than crafting detailed, exact animatics.

Filming herself earlier than structure, Tacconi and her staff use real-life video references for every shot, in a workflow harking back to rotoscoping, filling her characters with wealthy feelings and rib-crackingly humorous attitudes.

A full seven-minute episode animatic had Annecy’s viewers laughing from starting to finish. This strong challenge is now in search of buyers, worldwide companions and broadcasters to convey these lovable, extraordinarily humorous characters to life.

Caïmans Productions, Tacconi and her staff are additionally creating fifteen 20-second shorts to broaden their proposal—each narratively and as a part of a social media-driven technique—and are engaged on a graphic novel that includes the identical witty duo.

companions can uncover extra about this collection by reaching out to Camille Condemi at Caïmans Productions.

A heartfelt, hilarious story that additionally tackles deep matters and actual questions on how younger adults navigate at the moment’s world, “Bitches” is a particular spotlight of Annecy’s 2025 work-in-progress periods.