THE PRINCE'S VOYAGE
O.V in French subtitled in English and Spanish
The European version of the Japanese Miyazaki, Laguionie (honored this year in the Annecy Festival) opens our minds through astonishing imaginary worlds thanks to animation. This film takes us to a planet of apes where a monkey shows up in unknown lands, an old prince who ends up at the home of scientists who study him like a rare specimen. Through a captivating and lucid adventure, Laguionie offers us an almost-philosophical take on what "civilization" is and how we humans (also apes, let's not forget) have interpreted it.
Direction: Jean-François Laguionie, Xavier Picard.
Script: Jean-François Laguionie, Anik le Ray.
Editing: Patrick Ducruet
Production: Armelle Glorennec, Éric Jacquot, Stéphan Roelants
Production Company: Blue Spirit Productions, Mélusine Productions
JEAN-FRANÇOIS LAGUIONIE
Considered one of the masters of European animation, Laguionie was born in 1939 in Besançon, and after taking an interest in shadow plays, he was introduced to animation by Paul Grimault, who also produced his first feature film in the 1960s. In 1978 his talent was ratified by the Palme d'Or he won in Cannes for his short film La Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame. Since 1985, when his first feature film premiered, the award-winning Gwen, le livre de sable, he has directed Le Château des singes (1999), L'Île de Black Mór (2004), Le Tableau (2011), and Louise en hiver (2016). Le voyage du prince is his latest feature film, premiered at Annecy, where he received the Honorary Crystal Award for his career in 2019.
XAVIER PICAR
Scriptwriter, director and producer born in France, Picard has worked as an animator for figures such as Jean Chalopin, Hanna Barbera, Luc Besson and Mamoru Oshii. In 2010 he directed seven animated short films for the French Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, and was a teacher at the prestigious Gobelins animation school. In 2000, he founded Pictak together with Takashi Masunaga, a company that produces series and animated films for the international market, such as Marcelino, and La famille Ouf. In 2019 he co-directs Le voyage du prince with Jean François Laguionie.