Jeremy Clapin’s feature animation debut I Lost My Body won the Cristal for Best Animated Feature and the Audience Award Première at the 2019 Annecy Int’l Animated Film Festival.

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect start for an independent animated feature. Produced by Xilam Animation, the French feature about a disembodied hand in search of its owner, launched at Cannes Critics’ Week last month, where it won the grand prize, and Netflix subsequently picked up the film for distribution.

At Annecy, the film received a lengthy standing ovation, in addition to applause through most of the film’s credits. For good reason, too – Clapin’s I Lost My Body is one of the most polished and original auteur statements in recent animated cinema, showcasing the work of a filmmaker who is in complete command of his craft. In 2019, other features of equal merit to Clapin’s film may be released, but there will definitely be none better.