'Death does not exist' Director Félix Dufour-Laperrière gives an insight into his existential annecy function

Canadian writer/director/animator Félix Dufour-Laperrière is not an unknown of Annecy and other prestigious animation festivals. Its striking and very original shorts (M, the day listens to pink pink) and characteristics (Ville Neuve, archipelago) received a lot of praise for animation events around the world. So it is no surprise that his latest film, the brave and ambitious feature with the title ” Death does not exist ((La Mort n'existe pas) was a fourteenth selection of the directors in Cannes and a feature candidate at Annecy this year.

The 2D-animated entrance trains in the dilemmata of a young woman who gives up her friends when they make a failed attempt by an armed attack on rich landowners. The talented director in Montreal was so friendly to answer some of our questions about Zoom, just a few days before he was added to Cannes on his trip:

Animation magazine: Congratulations on the debut of your refined and thought -out film in Cannes and Annecy. Let's talk about the origins and inspiration of the film.

Félix Dufour-Laperrière: I started writing the script almost 10 years ago, so it developed a lot. At the end of 2020 we started working on the film. It was a little darker and more desperate in the tone, but it became more lively, and the focus turned on love, friendship and relationship between the main characters.

Her film begins with a group of young activists who are planning an armed attack against some rich people in a remote manor house in the country. Based on real events?

It comes from my own political beliefs and the desire to compensate for and maintain our anger against the world, which is decent and worth living in society. I have two children myself, so it is very personal for me. I tried to research my contradictions and intimate paradoxes.

Death does not exist is produced by Embuscade, a studio that they co -founded with their brother Nicolas in Montreal and Miyu in France. Can you tell us more about the production details?

Yes, exactly, my brother Nicolas and I founded Embuscade films 12 years ago and we made a few features and a few shorts. Death does not exist is our largest project so far. In our studio in Montreal we encouraged about 80% with a team of 27 people, and 20% of the animation were carried out in France by 15 other artists in Miyu. Later we used TVPaint, 12 frames per second. Everything was painted on paper at the beginning and then assembled with After Effects.

My brother Nicolas is the producer of the film, and my other brother (Jean L'Apeau) composed the music. I come from a tradition of handmade short films based in Quebec after doing the work of the National Film Board of Canada. I like to research the same type of unit and art in a longer format.

The film has a very selective color palette of green, oranges and steamed yellow, which emphasizes its tense moments. Can you talk about the visual style?

The entire film is structured in an abstract color field. I decided early on not always to distinguish the character from the background. So if there is a dynamic relationship within the two, the movement, the frame or its actions that make them visible is. At the same time, characters are part of their background, and the attitude also arises from the inner world of the characters. The abstraction reflects the radical nature of the characters and their beliefs.

I am primarily an animated filmmaker. While I write the script, I always think about how I can translate it into animation. I detached myself from the strict, natural format of the script to include some visual elements that are animated. This is one of the reasons why I love it. It is a very demanding but powerful medium. I am also a big fan of painting, so I also add my love for shapes and colors to the animated form.

What were the most difficult aspects of the film?

The composition was quite difficult because we had a very challenging forest. I took a lot of freedom to write this script and there were many ambitious and long camera movements. When you produce animation, everything that moves will be expensive, so that these long tracking recordings were heavily composed in the forest. The other demanding part was the coloring because it was not a rational process. The colors, the background were all intuitive. I tried to select a certain palette for every sequence and maintain the tension with abstraction, but hired the viewer.

What was your budget for the film?

There were about $ 2.8 million and we really brought everything on the screen! Of course, it was not easy to finance it because it is initially a difficult film and a difficult topic. But I feel very happy that we had such a great team and that it was able to end it.

Can you explain the enigmatic title of your film in more detail?

The main paradox is that yes, death exists. But it is an summoning: it is something you want to believe, just like your other strong beliefs. But the truth catches up. They may think that death for them or the others who suffer from the violence they put in the world does not exist, but in the end it exists for everyone.

Did you find that you wanted to work in animation at a young age?

As a teenager, I fell in love with the cinema. My friend and I always rent films on VHS! But I think I was too quiet for the live action sound and anger. I came across Jan Švankmajer's work on the DVD and it changed my world. It was such a powerful work of art of a person under a camera. That led me into the world of animation. Another great influence is Gianluigi Toccafondo (La Piccola Russia), and I love Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis absolutely ' When the day breaks. In general, I am strongly influenced by the experimental shorts produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

What do you think of today's global animation scene?

I think animation is very relevant in our world. A lot of animation is made worldwide, and many stories will not be possible without this art form. I am very happy about the success of Flow. I think there is such honesty about the filmmaking process. It is really happy to see that it is successful, and I am very hopeful that there will be an even wider audience for adult animations.

Do you have advice for young animation artists?

The key is honesty and endurance. There are many people who try to do what they believe that people like. But I think it is important to strictly honestly to yourself and the people with whom you work with, as well as the ideas you have to do with. In my earlier personal experiences, this was a good way to follow.

What effects do you finally hope that your film will have on the audience?

I hope it leaves it with a mixture of light and dark feelings: on the one hand there is anger, unfulfilled desire and the challenge of life, but the film also underlines the importance of friendship and responsibility to maintain a decent and livable society, as well as the importance of love and connections that clear us.

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Death does not exist is one of the films that were selected for official competition at the Annecy Festival this year.