Manitoba animated shorts launch festival of New French Film

A festival of new French film,calledDiverCin, is coming to Winnipegandfeatures films from French languagecountriesthe world over, including Cambodia, Senegal, Belgium and France and right here in Manitoba.

Alain Delannoyis a local animator and his short film, Fracture, is part of opening night on May 24. His eight-minute short film is made of 4000 drawings, all done by hand, and tookfour and a half years to complete. Fractiontells the story of an elderly painter who is trying to finish a painting, but it's a race against time, as he is ill.

Delannoy has been activein animation for over 20 years.This is the first film in which he also made use of digital tools. He drew the images onto his tablet (as opposed to drawing them on paper, then scanning the drawings into his computer). The drawings werethen painted using thetablet, creatinga great palate with different textures and different tones, something that would be difficult to achieve any other way, he said.

Delannoy, who now teaches at the Universit de Saint-Boniface, says there is so much creativity in the Franco-Manitobanculture.Indeed, he is so pleased that his student, Arielle Moier-Roy, will have an animated film presented alongside his at the opening of DiverCit.

"Watching my students succeed, I'm living vicariously through their successes. I couldn't be more proud."

As well, he feels it is an honour to have his work presented beside a documentary aboutthe great Quebec animator, Frederick Back, who passed away just this past December.

"I always find his work so inspiring, there's this richness in the drawings, and so much care. The messages arethemes of environment, of passion and also the importance of culture," he said.

"It inspired me to do my first hand-drawn animation and it gives me something to aspire to. His stuff is breathtaking, I'm continuously in awe of his work, as anybody who sees that documentary will be."

But the six-day festival, which has taken place in Ottawa and Vancouver in the past, is also very international, and Delannoyfeels it's very important to have the perspective of the diversity of francophone cinema.

"It's super exciting to see this program coming to Winnipeg."

DiverCin 2014 World Cinema from la Francophonie runs at Cinematheque from May 24 to 29. It's a collaboration between On Screen Manitoba, the Embassy of France in Canada, the Canadian Film Institute and Canadian Heritage.