It is a work of goldsmith, and the expression is not hackneyed. In Valence in the Drôme, the Folimage studio, hailed several times by critics for its productions including The Frog Prophecy in 2003, is working on his next marvel: an animated feature film made only with cut-out paper.
The Secret of the Chickadees, which is scheduled for release in 2024, tells the story of a little girl who accompanies her mother during archaeological digs. From discovery to discovery, she will trace the thread of her family history. “To tell this story, I needed to rediscover the sensations of my own childhood and for it to be as sensitive and fragile as paper can be”confides Antoine Lanciaux, the director.
A fragility difficult to transpose to the screen. The production team must create sets and characters for 850 shots. Each element is cut and glued by hand. It’s such a complex and meticulous technique that it’s never done for feature films. But the Folimage team wanted to take up this challenge. “It’s a challenge, because everything is excessive. It’s really the craft of animation and you can feel the hand of man. Everything is not perfect everywhere, but that’s what’s beautiful”testifies Loreleï Palies, animator at Folimage.
A ton of paper is used to make The Secret of the Chickadees. Once cut, all the layers of designs are superimposed on each other on four glass plates. This is when the animation begins.
“The first idea is to have an immersion in the cut paper”
Samuel Ribeyronproduction designer
“It’s quite rigorous. It feels like we’re in lace. We’re going to use magnets, magnetic paper. All that with black Canson paper. There are also some slightly secret particularities”smiles Camille Rossi, head puppet.
Swim in a pool of Canson paper
The difficulty is then to create, thanks to the animation, a real immersion of the spectator in the story. “Scissors, glue, these are tools for small children. We take this work to another dimension. The first idea is to have an immersion in the cut-out paper. no questions at the beginning of the film, that we go into the paper, that we have the impression of swimming in a pool of Canson paper”enthuses Samuel Ribeyron, production designer.
The first images are stunning, but the Folimage team still has thousands of sheets to cut to complete its feature film.