Having picked up my gimp mask bondage welcome bag, I proceeded to go through the goodies, and chalk up what treats I’m off to see over the next two days. Cartoon Movie is a place where European animation people go to pitch their feature film work to possible investors and or clients and or distributers. It’s in various stages of development, from concept right through to finished product. I hope I haven’t made it sound like a conference, as it is not the image that I conjure up in my head of a depressing grey table that I get when I think of the word conference.
However, neither, it must be said, is the event as ‘fun’ as Annecy.
The two are related. MEDIA (more about them later) are behind both Annecy and Cartoon Movie, as well as Cartoon Forum, which is for TV. But Annecy feels more like it is a place to mess about. Despite being enjoyable, this event feels more serious. It’s like Annecy’s grown up elder brother, who works in a bank but quite enjoys dress down Fridays.
I guess there is more at stake here. Annecy is a celebration of film, a chance for film makers to show off and strut about. This is were more serious production houses turn up, armed with work that has a lot of time and money invested in it, and they all have to perform on a stage to sell their ideas. There are no paper planes. No mooing like a cow when the lights go down. No Serge Bromberg mugging his way through an awards ceremony. It’s ace.
So it is to Cartoon Movies credit that they do their upmost to put everyone at ease, and make the experience as easy and as relaxed s they can. This evening saw a cocktail reception, where people mingled and ate the usual kind of stupid food speared on a cocktail stick you get at these events, which left us all having to sneak off to craftily discard manky used cocktail sticks on the corners of tables.
The opening film was Chico and Rita, a movie about a love story spanning over forty years against a backdrop of Cuban Jazz. Appropriately Cartoon Movie had hired a Cuban Jazz group to provide live music during the cocktails to get us in the mood. Despite being an enjoyable, engaging story, the style of Chico and Rita, a 2D rotoscoped affair, leaves it looking oddly like a cell shaded cg feature with too many lavish camera sweeps seemingly included just to show off depth, which is mildly distracting. Added to this, the male protagonist remains completely unsympathetic. Chico is a selfish, self destructive, misogynistic arse, basically.When he is framed for drug dealing and deported home on their wedding night and lost to the Cuban revolution, you’re supposed to feel sorry for Rita. I couldn’t help but feel she got off lightly. However, I’m just thankful the opening film wasn’t the Illusionist, as Cartoon Movie may have hired a suicidally depressed puppeteer to provide the background entertainment to enhance the mood.
Before the film kicked off, the presidents of the event gave a short speech, in which they sold the benefits of the Rhone Alps region, and amusingly stressed to the French crowd that animation is not an industry that is limited just to Paris. I have heard countless speeches saying the exact same thing in the UK, only with ‘London’ substituted in, instead. (Indeed, it’s a winge I believe I have wittered and bleated on some occasions too)
Finally the day ended with a massive three course meal for everyone in a huge posh French restaurant. At least I think it was posh. This is France. For all I know, the salmon starter followed by duck followed by chocolate followed by coffee is their version of McDonalds.
When I say huge, I mean huge, too. A fleet of coaches took us from the cinema to the restaurant. Everyone was invited. Thats over seven hundred people. I’d hate to be the one who does the washing up tonight.
Anyway, I sneaked off early to write this out, and to get some shut eye early in order for the start of the pitches tomorrow. And also I wanted to get away before all the arguments started when they split the bill.