Vivement Lundi! and Nadasdy Film co-production is the first film directed by Elice Meng and Eleonora Marinoni; animated feature to screen in competition at Clermont-Ferrant International Short Film Festival in February.
RENNES, FRANCE – Winner of two awards, at its first release at Locarno International Film Festival, Of Shadows & Wings has now won an additional three new awards. Among the awards were Best animated short at Olympia Children's Film Festival Athens, Best international animated short at Animation Chico California and Best Animated Film at Fargo Film Festival. Coproduced by Vivement Lundi ! (France) and Nadasdy Film (Switzerland), Of Shadows & Wings… is the first film directed by Elice Meng and Eleonora Marinoni.
The film will be in competition at Clermont-Ferrant International Short Film Festival in February.
Of Shadows & Wings… began in Elice Meng's mind, about five years ago, while in front of one of her paintings entitled "Where are the birds without wings going." The French artist wondered what could express her creatures, half human and half bird. If questioned, what could they say about the place that we give us, the one that we choose? Elice wrote a first story revisiting the allegory of the cave of Platon, a story about love, about the place of the individual in the group, about impact strength.
In 2012, Mathieu Courtois, producer in Vivement Lundi !, introduced Eleonora Marinoni to Elice Meng. Eleonora worked on short films such as His war by Bruno Collet, The House of dust by Jean-Claude Rozec and the series Dimitri by Agnès Lecreux. The young Swiss animator liked the story of Of Shadows & Wings…. Elice liked Eleonora's pictorial sensibility and taste for Asian painting. Both women mixed their graphic universes to liven up and put on stage "oishommes", creatures inspired by those of "Where are the birds without wings going."
The making of the short film spread out over 14 months, from storyboard to the mixing. A few sequences integrated the technology of Golaem Crowd.
For the narrator voice, Elice and Eleonora casted Mathieu Amalric, the French actor who won the César for the Best actor in 2005 and 2008. Amalric worked with Steven Spielberg on Munic" and was the "bad guy" Dominic Green in Quantum of solace.
Nicolas Martin composed the original soundtrack.
Of Shadows & Wings… is a French-Swiss co-production. Vivement Lundi ! and Nadasdy Film have been involved in co-productions such as La Tête dans le guidon, The Little dragon and Dimitri for 10 years. The 230 000 € budget was funded by RTS, CNC, Office Fédéral de la Culture, Région Bretagne, Cinéforom, Loterie Romande, Département de Loire-Atlantique, TVR and the City of Rennes.
Source: Vivement Lundi !
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
