Mexico’s massive presence as the country of honor at Annecy is no mean feat, taking organizer Pixelatl at least a year to put together the programs and secure the classic and recent short films to showcase.

“We had to speak to the widows of some of these animation artists and get their works restored,” says Pixelatl founder-ceo Jose Iñesta. Mexican film institute, Imcine, helped in the recovery of at least 11 shorts, some dating back from the 1930s.

For Annecy’s tribute to Mexico, Iñesta teamed up with seven renowned Mexican animation pros: Sofía Carrillo, Ana Cruz, Lucía Cavalchini, Tania de León Young, Lourdes Villagómez, Christian Bermejo and Jordi Iñesta, to curate and organize the nine programs comprising 88 short films, 39 of which are directed by women and 29 produced by Imcine.

While Imcine’s incentives program allots some funds to animation, they are small sums divvied up among live action, animation and other formats.