From Monet's "Lotus" to Picasso's "Dream", from the tender watery chanson to the fiery Kang Kang... On December 17, an animated film with a strong French romantic atmosphere, "Di Lili's Fantasy Paris", held a press conference at the Broadway Film Art Center in Beijing. The film director, Michel O'Silo, a French national treasure animation film giant, and the main creative team came to the scene from France to share creative experiences with more than 200 on-site audiences and guests.
Directed by Michelle Oslo
"Paris deserves all the praise of the world"
"Di Lili's Fantasy Paris" tells a fantasy adventure story full of romantic feelings: the end of the nineteenth century is the 'Belle Epoque' in Paris, the new art is full of flowers, new technologies emerge in an endless stream, behind this golden age there is a series of girls being abducted, see the righteous and courageous little princess Di Lili and her friend courier embark on a magical journey, shuttle through the famous buildings and streets of Paris, save the trapped girls, meet Marie Curie, Picasso, Matisse, Monet on the way, Proust and many other geniuses and celebrities of the times, and received their generous help. The film depicts a stunning Parisian painting and a heroic score, showing realistic themes and the possibilities of original animation.
Poster of "Di Lili's Fantastic Paris"
Director Michel Ocelot, born in the French Riviera before World War II, is a well-known animation director, screenwriter and artist in contemporary France. Since directing her first animated series Gideon in 1976, Michelle's animated feature film has won the César Award for French Animation, the Cesar Award for Best Animated Short Film and other awards, and has been shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Cannes Film Festival and the competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival.
It is understood that Michelle's previous works have explored different continents and eras, but making a film set in Paris is the first attempt of the master who grew up and lived in Paris. "I can finally make a film set in Paris!" Faced with such a rich culture, I was like a child wandering in a candy store, able to taste every candy I wanted to taste and do what I could. At the press conference, the director revealed his heart. Paris, in his opinion, is undoubtedly an extraordinary place, "it deserves all the praise of the world." This time I chose Belle Epoque (cut in) because it was the time when the last women to wear long skirts, and this dress evoked the deep dreams of princesses, queens and fairies in women's hearts. It is a distant enough era to evoke people's dreams, and at the same time it is a time that can make dreams a reality closer. ”
"The key words in French animation are independence and freedom"
The film's sometimes jumping and flexible color hedging, and sometimes another unique exotic tone, make the audience exclaim that they have finally experienced the charm of the "color magic master". The integration of two-dimensional animation characters in the famous buildings of Paris makes the audience appreciate the avant-garde temperament of animation. A small French-speaking audience member asked the director, "Why is the location in the film real, but the characters are hand-drawn?" Michelle Oslow replied, "The live-action part I recorded with my camera, I don't want to show it by hand." The characters, except for the male and female protagonists and the driver of the female singer, are real, but I can't invite the geniuses of 1900 to star in this film, and as an animated film, I hope to incorporate some fantasy elements through hand-drawn. ”
Stills from Di Lili's Fantastic Paris
There are also live audiences "worried" about whether children can really understand the deep connotation of the film, the director laughed that there is no need, "although in the process of creating the film, I rarely target a certain group, such as children to create." But I was also a child, and I also had unforgettable childhood experiences, children although they don't know a lot of things, but they will remember that the most they do before the age of 18 is 'record'. And, happily enough, the audience here today covers all ages, and I feel like I've succeeded. ”
As the leader of the French animation industry, in the context of the era of globalization, Michel O'Silo's works have always been unique in the world and have a wide range of influence, which not only reflects the "otherworldly" of French animation from beginning to end, but also actively absorbs the advantages of foreign cultures and shows different cultural characteristics and artistic styles. In an interview with The Paper, he told me that the key words of French animation are independence and freedom, "There is no doubt that Disney animation and American movies are more technical, they are like a precision machine, but the commercial flavor is too strong, no matter what they do, the motivation behind them is to expect corresponding commercial returns." French films, like cartoons, are more authorly and not constrained by a board of directors. For example, my work "Twitter and the Beast" told a story of Africa, and the characters in the film were all naked. The producers wanted me to dress them because otherwise it might not have been released in North America, but I didn't want to show (so I declined the request). The film was later very successful in the market and ushered in the era of French animated feature films. Nowadays, there are several animated feature films in France a year. The more works, the higher the quality. ”
"Di Lili's Fantasy Paris" was introduced by China Film Group Corporation, distributed by China Film Co., Ltd., produced by Northwest France Company, and translated and produced by Shanghai Film (Group) Company Shanghai Film Translation Factory. The film was nominated for the Best Animated Film at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival in 2019 and the Best Animated Feature at the 44th César Film Awards in France in 2019. The film will be released nationwide on December 21.