Ciné Lumière, London, To Begin Anima(c)tion Season from 23 May, Dedicated to French Animated Gems
Skwigly
French animation goes back as far as 1882, beginning with Emile Reynaud’s first public screening of Pantomimes Lumineuses. Today, France is a major global player in the world of animated film with the European co-production and Oscar nominated Wolfwakers by Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart.
The new series, Anima(c)tion, aims to focus on French animated gems. Exploring techniques and history, with regular screenings of both classic and contemporary films, the programme sets to building bridges between the French and British savoir-faire with screenings, talks, Q&As, workshops and more.
Open to all ages and levels of knowledge, from animation enthusiasts to those eager to discover this ever evolving, rich and diverse art.
Upcoming Screenings
LE ROMAN DE RENARD + FOX HUNT
Sun 23 May, 4.00pm
FRA/UK | 1930–41/1936 | 65 mins/8 mins | dir.s Irène & Ladislas Starewitch/dir.s Anthony Gross & Hector Hoppin | FR with EN subs
Based on the medieval fable Reynard the Fox—as well as Goethe’s late 18th century adaptation—Irène & Ladislas Starewitch’s The Story of the Fox was the first animated feature film made in France throughout the 1930s and released in 1941. Reynard the cunning fox causes mischief among the animals of the kingdom, forcing King Lion to have him arrested and summoned before the throne, the beginning of a fierce battle for power. This screening will be preceded by the restored version of Anthony Gross & Hector Hoppin’s delightfully choreographed 8-min short animated film Fox Hunt, a Technicolor follow-up to the modernist cartoon classic Joie de Vivre.
Screenings introduced by Jez Stewart, Animation Curator, BFI
Tickets available here: www.institut-francais.org.uk
CALAMITY, A CHILDHOOD OF MARTHA JANE CANNARY
Sun 06 June, 1.30pm & Sat 12th June, 2.00pm
85 mins | FR with EN subs | FRA/DEN | 2020 | dir. Rémi Chayé | UK premiere
1863, United States of America. 12-year-old Martha Jane and her family are headed West in search of a better life. After her father is hurt in a serious accident, Martha Jane takes charge of her siblings and learns to drive the family wagon. She has never felt so free. In the wild, she discovers herself and a world which shapes her… revealing the mythical and slightly mysterious Calamity Jane. Rémi Chayé’s film won the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2020.
Tickets available here: www.institut-francais.org.uk
FUNAN
Wed 16 June, 6.45pm & Sun 20th June, 1.30pm
84 mins | in French with EN subs | FRA/BEL/LUX/CAM/REU/USA | 2018 | dir. Denis Do
In 1975 in Phnom Penh, Chou leads an enchanted life until one morning when the Khmer Rouge madness plunges Cambodia into horror. Powerless, Chou and her people are deported to camps. When her 4-year-old son is snatched from her, her world falls apart but she never loses hope. Winner of the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2018, Funan is the incredibly powerful story of a young mother’s fight to save her son and keep her family together. Screenings will be preceded by an introduction with dir. Denis Do and the screening on 16 June will be followed by a panel organised in collaboration with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Welcome Committee as part of Refugee Week.
Tickets available here: www.institut-francais.org.uk
JOSEP
Sat 10 July, 6.20pm
dir. Aurel, with Sergi López, Xavier Serrano, David Marsais, Alain Cauchi | France/Spain/Belgium | 2020 | animation | 71 min |cert. PG | In French, Catalan, Spanish and English with Eng subs
Josep is the debut of editorial journalist Aurélien Froment, better known for his illustrations for Le Monde and his graphic novels about jazz and international politics. The title subject is Catalan artist Josep Bartolí. As well as recounting Bartolí’s intense life, first as a soldier fighting against Franco, then as lover of Frida Kalho and finally as a victim of the Hollywood blacklist, Aurel focuses mostly on his life in a French internment camp after the Spanish Civil War and on the friendship he forged with Serge, the gendarme at the other side of the fence.
A wonderfully executed, exhilarating and unmissable poetic film of an artist’s life in difficult political circumstances.
Q&A Screening with Aurel