Jean-François Laguionie

Jean-François Laguionie
Laguionie in 2016
Born (1939-10-10) 10 October 1939 (age 85)
Besançon, Doubs, France
Occupation(s)Director, producer, animator
Years active1965–present

Jean-François Laguionie (born 10 October 1939) is a French animator, film director and producer.

Biography

Laguionie was originally interested in theatre but his encounter with Paul Grimault gave him the opportunity to learn the techniques of animated film. Though they were very close to each other, Paul Grimault and Jean-François Laguionie rarely worked together (though Grimault produced Laguionie's first three shorts).

Jean-François Laguionie then directed several short films, climaxing with the now famous La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame (Rowing across the Atlantic) (1978), which won the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival, the Grand Prize at the 1978 Ottawa International Animation Festival and the César Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 4th César Awards.[1][2][3]

He has also been a friend of Michel Ocelot, whose short film Les Trois inventeurs was shot in Laguionie's home studio and used the magnet-aided method of cutout animation invented by him.

While working on his first feature-length animated film, Gwen, or the Book of Sand (Gwen, le livre de sable) in 1985, "Jef" founded the animation studio "La Fabrique". Though appreciated by critics, Gwen only received rather limited popular acclaim.

Later works

His second feature film, Le Château des singes (A Monkey's Tale co-directed with Xavier Picard[4]) premiered in 1999. It received the Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 5th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival.[5]

His third feature L'Île de Black Mór (The Island of Black Mór), appeared in 2003.

In 2011, Laguionie completed work on Le Tableau (The Painting), a feature-length film which utilized a blend of animation and live-action. The film won the award for Best Feature Film at the 8th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials.[6]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Récompenses et nominations pour le court-métrage La Traversee de l'Atlantique a la rame". AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on Nov 4, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  2. ^ "La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame (Rowing across the Atlantic)". Ottawa International Animation Festival. Archived from the original on Nov 4, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  3. ^ Académie des César (November 7, 2012). "LA TRAVERSÉE DE L'ATLANTIQUE À LA RAME de Jean-François Laguionie, César 1979 Meilleur Court-Métrage d'Animation". Vimeo.
  4. ^ Croll, Ben (2019-06-10). "French Director Will Receive Honorary Prize, Preview Latest Film". Variety. Archived from the original on Jun 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "5. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 2. Nemzetközi Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál". Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. Archived 2018-12-01 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ 11. Kecskeméti Animációs Filmfesztivál 8. Európai Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál. Kecskeméti Animáció Film Fesztivál. 2013.
  7. ^ The Imaginary Worlds of Jean-François Laguionie — FIAF
  8. ^ 'The Painting', Directed by Jean-François Laguionie - The New York Times
  9. ^ Louise by the Shore|NW Film Center
  10. ^ Languionie's 'Prince Voyage' Journeys to U.S. with Shout! Studios|Animation Magazine