Jean-François Laguionie | |
|---|---|
 Laguionie in 2016 | |
| Born | (1939-10-10)10 October 1939 (age 86) |
| Occupation(s) | Director, producer, animator |
| Years active | 1965–present |
Jean-François Laguionie (born 10 October 1939) is a French animator, film director and producer.
Laguionie was originally interested intheatre but his encounter withPaul Grimault gave him the opportunity to learn the techniques of animated film. Though they were very close to each other,Paul Grimault and Jean-François Laguionie rarely worked together (though Grimault produced Laguionie's first three shorts).
Jean-François Laguionie then directed several short films, climaxing with the now famousLa Traversée de l'Atlantique à la rame (Rowing across the Atlantic) (1978), which won theShort Film Palme d'Or at the1978 Cannes Film Festival, the Grand Prize at the 1978Ottawa International Animation Festival and theCésar Award for Best Animated Short Film at the4th César Awards.[1][2][3]
He has also been a friend ofMichel Ocelot, whose short filmLes Trois inventeurs was shot in Laguionie's home studio and used the magnet-aided method ofcutout animation invented by him.
While working on his first feature-length animated film,Gwen, or the Book of Sand (Gwen, le livre de sable) in 1985, "Jef" founded the animation studio "La Fabrique". Though appreciated by critics,Gwen only received rather limited popular acclaim.
His second feature film,Le Château des singes (A Monkey's Tale co-directed with Xavier Picard[4]) premiered in 1999. It received the Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 5thKecskemét Animation Film Festival.[5]
His third featureL'Île de Black Mór (The Island of Black Mór), appeared in 2003.
In 2011, Laguionie completed work onLe Tableau (The Painting), a feature-length film which utilized a blend of animation andlive-action. The film won the award for Best Feature Film at the 8thFestival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials.[6]
