Gerben Shermer was entrusted with the mission of putting together a programme dedicated to French animation post 2000.
Gerben Shermer is Director and Head Programmer at the Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht, but he also specializes in contemporary Chinese animation. He has a taste for works that are conceptual, hybrid, audacious and whatever borders on experimental.
In the programme he compiled on French animation from the 21st century, there’s a medley of films by Édouard Salier, Daniel Wiroth, Vergine Keaton and Bastien Dupriez, all filmmakers who explore these grey areas where live action, visual arts and experimentation cross paths. Other names on his list like Jérémy Clapin, Virginia Mori and Osman Cerfon are known for their unique visions and distinctive graphic styles.
Gianluigi Toccafondo walks the line between these two groups with Thugs with no Legend, a hybrid film that borders on animation while staying true to his unmistakable artistic trademark.
The programme is wrapped up with Brandt Rhapsodie, produced as part of the "Le laboratoire d’images" collection, in which illustrator François Avril created the setting for a visual transposition of a song by Jeanne Cherhal and Benjamin Biolay.