story
When 9-year-old Lucie arrives for a vacation in a town where her mother grew up, she has no idea of the adventures ahead. While her mother is working on an archaeological site in the town castle with her colleague, Lucie explores the area with her dog Mandrin and Yann, a friendly boy from a nearby farm. Together, they find a mysterious key in a nest on the castle wall; venture into the forest and encounter an old man, a hermit the locals call Wizard; save a small badger, all the while accompanied by a pair of songbirds who seem to guide them… When they finally discover a secret passage under the castle, secrets begin to unravel.
"Paper-cut animation is an old technique that has gradually been replaced by digital software using “animated puppets”. But this traditional method is still used by a few directors and animation students. Applying my experience to this technique, I got together with Sophie Roze to co-direct two shorts produced by Folimage, Peinture fraîche (Fresh Paint) and Neige (Snow). For the latter, we had Samuel Ribeyron on the backgrounds and Sophie Roze on the characters, forming a successful artistic alliance. We are planning on working together again on the Songbird’s Secret, blending our respective worlds even more harmoniously.
Directing a film with nothing but cut-outs may seem restrictive, but I personally see it as a big plus, from both aesthetic and graphic point of view. The paper-cut technique guides and determines the way the frames are put together. Every location is depicted as a scene, providing the viewer with visual comfort. And despite being stylised, gentle, paced and contemplative, it in no way excludes action or fast-paced editing. Already at the writing stage, I work with this “frontal” approach, blending my characters with the background in a natural way.
This movie tackles the sensitive subjects of parentage and intergenerational relations, approaching them with finesse and originality through the story of a family and the secrets it harbours. Starting off on a realistic note, the story gradually adopts a tale-like quality, using symbols and codes inherent to this style. A quest for treasure and the magic provided by the songbirds and other animals gradually twist reality, subtly imbuing the film with fantasy."
- Antoine Lanciaux