Cotte admires historian John Canemaker’s writing.

OC: Ouch! I don't know, and, sometimes, when I think about that, I feel uncomfortable. Of course, FX that use animation, particularly via computer, are much more important than before. But keep in mind that it's only an extra. It didn't kill the rest. It's a bonus. But I worry more about the culture. Now I see less experimental films than before. All the independent (especially from schools) films seem very 'equal.' It often gives me the feeling that the director wanted his film to 'fit in a mainstream style.' I suppose we will produce traditional drawn films in 10-20 years, probably less, but maybe better films. The real question is who will do that? And, who will be interested to see them?

CR: And that’s really an important question: Who will be interested to see them? Will there even be a place for short films? Annecy has more focus on feature animation, and we’ve just been told in Ottawa that’s its in our best interest (financially) if the Ottawa Festival starts focussing more on commercially viable feature animation. Are we now entering a new era that might lead to the demise of the short animation film?

Cotte’s latest project is translating Richard Willams’ book to French.

OC: That's a real problem. We wanted to see animation become better known and distributed. We complained about the lack of features films (except Disney's films)? OK! Here we are! A feature is part of a business, it's very expensive and so it means money. A large part of the audience is interested in this kind of production. Today art is much more linked to entertainment (some people don't even make the difference). All these considerations lead to a possibility: the one that a short could only turn to be a 'passport' or a showreel, when you leave the school, destined to work only in the business sector.

CR: How is the animation scene in France?

OC: The situation in France is quite different from other countries. The government can help production, and, every year, about 450 shorts (animation and live-action) are produced. There is Folimage, of course, and there are many other little companies that produce independent films. And when we add student films, it’s quite a lot. And yes, commercial production, especially feature, is important. Only last month, there were three new French animated features on screen. That's the first time that happened.

CR: Thanks for your time.

OC: A pleasure.

Chris Robinson is the artistic director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Ottawa International Student Animation Festival. He is also the editor of the semi-annual ASIFA Magazine. Robinson has curated film programs and served on festival juries throughout the world. He writes a monthly column (The Animation Pimp) for Animation World Network and has written for Salon.com, Cinemascope, Take One, 12gauge, City Pages and others. Robinson contributed a chapter on English-Canadian animation to the book, North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980. His book Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy: A Story of Estonian Animation was published in May. He is working on a strange book about childhood, alcoholism and an ex-hockey player tentatively called, The Boy Who Never Grew Up.