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Pachyderme

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Pachyderme
Release poster
Directed byStéphanie Clément
Written byMarc Rius
Produced by
  • Thomas Giusiano[1]
  • Mathieu Rey[1]
  • Marc Rius[1]
StarringChrista Théret
Edited byStéphanie Clément[2]
Music byOlivier Militon[1]
Animation by
  • Marthe Delaporte (3D)[1]
  • Jérémy Ortiz (3D)[1]
  • Marine Vaisse (3D)[1]
  • Marc Robinet (2D)[1]
  • Mina Convers (2D)[1]
  • Morten Riisberg Hansen (2D)[1]
Color processColor
Production
companies
Distributed byMiyu Distribution
Release dates
  • 24 April 2022 (2022-04-24) (Festival national du film d'animation)
  • 12 June 2022 (2022-06-12) (Arte)
Running time
11 minutes[1]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

Pachyderme is a 2022 French animated short film directed by Stéphanie Clément. Blending traditional and computer animation, the film is a subtle narrative about a young girl's survival of childhood abuse. The animation creates a visual metaphor for the dissociative nature of the trauma she suffers. It features the voice of Christa Théret.[3] It won Best Short Film at the Manchester Animation Festival and Best Animated Short at the Foyle Film Festival,[4][5] and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.[6][7][8]

Synopsis

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A young woman remembers her vacations to the countryside to stay with her grandparents. The story is told in fairytale-like, concise animations based on children's books, which ambiguously and subtly create an eerie atmosphere, where the young girl perceives the grandfather as a silent, foreboding presence. The film shows the girl's unsettling room where she tries to kill "monsters". She is frightened by the knots of wood in the ceiling that resemble eyes, and the creaking of the old wooden floorboards at night. The way there is indicated by the tusk of a pachyderm. One day she pricks herself with a fishing hook and her grandfather gives her the "healing kiss". Although it wouldn't hurt anymore, she would smell her grandfather's saliva all day long. He removes her bike's training wheels and takes her to a lake where a woman has already drowned. At night he would take her into the forest, where she had to be very quiet to listen to the forest animals. One day he enters her room and she tries to sink into the wallpaper to hide. Her grandmother, however, repeatedly emphasizes that her room is safe and that nothing can happen to her at their home.

One day it snows in the summer and her grandfather dies. That same night, the tusk is broken and later glued back together by her grandmother. Afterwards, the girl rarely visits her grandmother. After her grandmother's death, the girl matures into womanhood and attempts to free herself from the trauma of her childhood by sinking the tusk into the lake. But the lake can never be deep enough.

Production

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"I sought to create images that would inspire in the viewer a mixed feeling of gentleness and unease. By introducing, for example, a sense of disquiet through framing and composition. The sky is virtually non-existent in the film. When the sky is present, it is obstructed by an element – the grandparents' house, a tree, etc. – to evoke the character's lack of escape. The little girl is a prisoner, trapped in a play of frame-within-a-frame, the outline of a door or a window. She is often fragmented in the shot, her upper body separated from her lower, as if dispossessed of herself. Sometimes, it's her eyes that are cropped out, as the sign of a forbidden."

—Stéphanie Clément[9]

Stéphanie Clément and screenwriter Marc Rius both originate from Provence. The project began from their shared desire to work together and approach the topic of incest. They worked to craft a film based on various psychological defense mechanisms, such as dissociation and repression. According to Clément, their story focuses on "an emotionally anesthetized character who struggles with their own memories". They chose the remoteness of the south of France as their setting and wanted the narrative to reflect the "banality" of everyday life there. They also adapted the film's color scheme to capture the landscape of the region. They used dreamlike imagery and symbolism to ensure viewers were more receptive to the difficult subject matter and to further evoke different feelings in the viewer.[9][10]

Pachyderme was produced by Tu Nous ZA Pas Vus (TNZPV) Productions and Folimage. It received support from the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Arte France, Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Région Grand Est, Département de la Haute-Savoie, Département de la Drôme, Valence Romans Agglo, and SACEM in association with the Maison du Film.[1] The film blends 2D animation from the Folimage studio with the Blender CGI technology of TNZPV Studio's 3D teams.[3][11]

Release

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The film premiered on 24 April 2022 at the Festival national du film d'animation in Rennes.[12] It was broadcast in Germany and France on 12 June 2022 through the Arte television channel.[13] It was also screened in the official competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 13 June 2022.[14] Distribution is handled by Miyu Distribution.[1]

Reception

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Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Academy Awards 10 March 2024 Best Animated Short Film Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius Nominated [15]
Animafest Zagreb 11 June 2022 Grand Prix – Short Film Pachyderme Nominated [16]
Annecy International Animation Film Festival 18 June 2022 Cristal du court métrage Nominated [17]
Prix du jury SensCritique Won [18]
Foyle Film Festival 27 November 2022 Light in Motion Competition – Best Animated Short Won [19]
Manchester Animation Festival 18 November 2022 Best Short Film Won [20]
Meknes International Animated Film Festival 8 March 2023 Grand Prix Won [21]
Nice European Short Film Festival (Un Festival C'est Trop Court!) 14 October 2022 Prix Courts d'Ici Won [22]
Voix d'Étoiles – Festival international des voix du cinéma d'animation 29 October 2022 Étoile du meilleur court métrage Won [23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Pachyderme" (in French). Folimage. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Pachyderme". Imaginaria - International Animated Film Festival. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Lang, Jamie (12 January 2024). "Oscar Shortlist Interviews: Director Stéphanie Clément Shares Her Favorite Shot From 'Pachyderme' (Exclusive)". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  4. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (18 November 2022). "'Nayola,' 'Pachyderm' Win Top Prizes at Manchester Animation Fest". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. ^ Clinton, Orlaith (29 November 2022). "Foyle Film Festival: Winners of Light in Motion Competition Awards announced". Belfast Live. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. ^ Zahed, Ramin (23 January 2024). "Animation and VFX Nominees for the 96th Academy Awards Are Announced". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  7. ^ Verniere, James (16 February 2024). "Oscar-nominated animated shorts worth watching". Boston Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  8. ^ Vaught, Isaac (16 February 2024). "Quiet violence of Oscars' best animated shorts accentuates vulnerability". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b Murphy, Jackson (15 January 2024). "INTERVIEW: The Challenges Of Challenging "Pachyderme"". Animation Scoop. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ Munday, Rob. "Pachyderme - an animated short film by Stéphanie Clément". Short of the Week. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Press Kit 2 (English)" (PDF). Folimage. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Pachyderme" (in French). Festival national du film d'animation. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Dickhäuter - Film in voller Länge" (in German). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Official 3". Annecy Festival. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  15. ^ Lang, Brent; Moreau, Jordan (23 January 2024). "Oscar Nominations 2024: 'Oppenheimer' Dominates With 13 Nods, 'Poor Things' Follows With 11". Variety. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  16. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (21 March 2022). "Animafest Presents Grand Competition Selection for 50th Anniversary Fest". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Annecy 2022 Official Selection: Official Short Films in Competition". Annecy Festival. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  18. ^ SensCritique (20 June 2022). "🏆 PRIX DU JURY SENSCRITIQUE 🏆 Le court-métrage "Pachyderme" de Stéphanie Clément remporte le prix du Jury SensCritique au Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy ! 💚 👏 Félicitations à toute l'équipe du film et merci aux participants du Jury !". Facebook. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Light in Motion Competition 2022 Award Winners Announced". Foyle Film Festival. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  20. ^ "MAF 2022 CROWN WINNERS!". Manchester Animation Festival. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  21. ^ Ouiddar, Nadia (9 March 2024). "FICAM : mention spéciale pour le court métrage "L'ombre des papillons" de la marocaine Sofia El Khyari". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  22. ^ "DÉCOUVREZ LE PALMARÈS DE LA 22ÈME ÉDITION D'UN FESTIVAL C'EST TROP COURT!" (in French). Héliotrope. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Festival Voix d'Étoiles à Leucate : le palmarès 2022". La Dépêche (in French). 1 November 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
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