See a slice of Icebergclub. All images courtesy of Jean Pascal Princiaux.

While Jean Pascal Princiaux contends his film Icebergclub is not meant to be a controversial film, it indeed was when it screened at the 26th International Animated Film Festival at Annecy. For thirty-two minutes, one takes the iceberg's point of view and watches the Titanic slowly approach on that fateful night in the north Atlantic Ocean. The photo-realistic, CGI film moves tremendously slowly as the iceberg drifts along in the ocean, taking in the stars and sea, prior to the crash. Some people sat captivated, others walked out in disgust and still others reveled in the film, hooting and hollering their derision. Animation World decided to find out what was behind this film that caused all the hubbub late one night and was the talk of the festival the next day. "What did you think?" "What did it mean?" "Well, I heard…" "Well, that's not quite what I heard…"

If the purpose of art is indeed to lead us into discussion and to question previously held beliefs and opinions…then Icebergclub succeeds on all levels.

Annick Teninge: Over the entire course of the Annecy Festival, your film Icebergclub caused the greatest reaction from the audience. There was some clapping of support but a lot of hollering, whistles, etc. Did you expect this? Did it upset you? The Annecy crowd is known to be brutal

A self portrait by Jean Pascal Princiaux.

Jean Pascal Princiaux: I must say I was surprised to be in the competition at Annecy. I had thought the film might be shown in panorama, or in an informational program as an experimental film. Having Icebergclub screened in the official competition program was a breathtaking, scary experience. But it was a great test, because the Annecy audience is so reactive. I was able to analyze almost in a mechanical way how people were positioning themselves. There were three categories of people in the audience: people who didn’t like the format of the film and didn’t want to get into it; people who thought they would have a bit of peace while watching it; and people who were switching from one feeling to another. Those were the noisiest, the ones going back and forth during the entire film. When the collision was coming, they seemed to be ready for it and encourage the impact.

AT: Was this how the film was intended to be screened? I had heard that it was an art installation or was supposed to play on multiple screens; is this true? What is your background?

JPP: I come from the contemporary art scene where I have been presenting my films and installations at personal and collective exhibitions for about ten years. I am facing the same reserve in this contemporary art world, where I cannot be categorized.

This film is part of a three movie pack, Icebergclub, Casinoclub and Fourrésclub. The three of them are intended to be shown simultaneously, thus allowing viewers to make connections between more or less heterogeneous elements. In Casinoclub, the subject absorbs substances that make him mix up extrasensory perceptions with internal ones. And in Fourrésclub, the subject finds himself in a square of scrub and cannot find his way. This three movie pack is part of an art installation where the viewer wears a movement-detector helmet and can simultaneously watch any of the three movies on multiple screens.

AT: I must say that after one gets used to the idea of just sitting and watching...without the expectation of things happening...the film becomes a very relaxing experience, even though the subject matter is of an immense human tragedy. I also felt as if you were making a point that the elements, earth and all her mighty forces, remains unchanged by man's tragedies and unharnessed by his triumphs. It is a very powerful film without having a typical story structure. What was the point of the film? What were you trying to show or prove?