Patrick Bouchard’s “The Subject” to screen at Cannes and Annecy
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will be at Cannes for a second year running, this time with Patrick Bouchard’s animated short The Subject which recently premiered as the opening film of RVQC 2018.
Produced by Julie Roy, Executive Producer at the NFB’s French Animation Studio, the ten-minute short depicts an animator dissecting his own body, cutting into his skin to reveal an assortment of symbolic objects representing elements of his past, memories and anxieties that inform his work.
With an esteemed filmography that includes Bydlo (2012), Dehors novembre (2005), The Brainwashers (2002) and Subservience (2007), The Subject is stop-motion director Patrick Bouchard’s most personal film to date and the first to be included in the international line-up for the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary edition and takes place May 9th-19th.
In the spirit of the film’s intimate nature, Patrick Bouchard took on every creative role when crafting the film, from conception through to post-production and even composing the film’s soundtrack and designing its poster.
The Subject (©2018 NFB)
The NFB has always played a leading role in the production of animated films, both in Canada and internationally. This one-of-a-kind creative centre has nurtured countless filmmakers and contributed to some of the major developments in the format. Being selected for the Directors’ Fortnight attests to the creative strength of our animation studios. Congratulations to Patrick Bouchard and the whole team!
– Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson
Patrick Bouchard’s The Subject perfectly encapsulates production at the NFB’s animation studios. Supporting an author (in this case, for the fifth time) by placing our full trust in him and giving him free rein in terms of the creative process—as it turned out, a process as risky as it was out of the ordinary—has resulted in a work that pushes the boundaries of animated cinema. We are very gratified that the Directors’ Fortnight recognizes the value of such a process.
– Julie Roy, Executive Producer, French Animation Studio, NFB
The Subject (©2018 NFB)
Followings its screening at Cannes The Subject will soon after screen in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which runs from June 11th–16th.
For more info on the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight visit quinzaine-realisateurs.com