Sylvain Chomet | |
|---|---|
 Chomet in 2014 | |
| Born | (1963-11-10)10 November 1963 (age 61) Maisons-Laffitte, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable work | The Triplets of Belleville The Illusionist |
| Spouse | Sally Chomet |
| Website | sylvainchomet |
Sylvain Chomet (French:[ʃɔmɛ]; born 10 November 1963) is a Frenchcomic writer,animator and film director.
Born inMaisons-Laffitte,Seine-et-Oise (nowYvelines), near Paris, he studied art at high school until he graduated in 1982. Chomet moved to London in 1988 to work as ananimator at the Richard Purdum studio. In September of that year, he established afreelance practice, working on commercials for clients such as Principality,Renault, Swinton andSwissair.
In addition to his animation career, Chomet has created many print comics, starting in 1986 withSecrets of the Dragonfly. In 1992 Chomet wrote the script for a science fiction comic calledThe Bridge in Mud. 1993 saw Chomet writing the story forLéon-la-Came, which was drawn byNicolas de Crécy forÀ Suivre magazine. This was published in 1995 and won theRené Goscinny Prize in 1996. In 1997, Chomet publishedUgly, Poor, and Sick, again with de Crécy. This won them the Alph-Art Best Comic Prize at theAngoulême Comics Festival.
In 1991, Chomet started work on his first animated film,The Old Lady and the Pigeons, with backgrounds designed byNicolas de Crécy. The short film won him aBAFTA, the Grand Prize at the 1997Annecy International Animated Film Festival, theCartoon d'or prize, as well as the Audience Prize and Jury Prize at the Angers Premiers Plans Festival. It also received a nomination for anAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Chomet's first feature-length animated film,The Triplets of Belleville was also nominated for twoOscars in 2003 (Best Animated Feature and Best Song), and introduced Chomet's name to a much wider audience.[1] Upon the film's release, de Crécy accused Chomet of plagiarizing his work, citing it as the reason for the dissolution of their collaboration.[2][3] The visual style ofThe Triplets of Belleville closely resembles the earlier work of de Crécy's 1994 graphic novelLe Bibendum Céleste.[4]
In 2004, Chomet foundedDjango Films, an animation studio based inEdinburgh, Scotland. The studio was set up with the ambition of establishing itself in both animation and live-action filmmaking, but has since been dismantled due to several production difficulties, first losing funding for what was to be the studio's first animated feature,Barbacoa, to have been directed by Chomet.[5] Another major setback was the studio's failure to secure funding forThe Clan, ananimated sitcom forBBC.[6]
In 2006, he directed a segment for the collaborative filmParis, je t'aime; he was assigned the7th arrondissement of Paris segment "Tour Eiffel". It was Chomet's first work inlive action.
After many delays, Chomet directedThe Illusionist, which premiered at the60th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2010.[7][8] The film was based on an unproduced script thatJacques Tati had written in 1956 as a personal letter to his estranged eldest daughter and stars an animated version of Tati himself.[9][10][11][12] It was originally conceived by Tati as a journey of love and discovery that takes two characters acrossWestern Europe toPrague. Chomet says that "Tati wanted to move from purely visual comedy and try an emotionally deeper story" and states that "It's not a romance, it's more the relationship between a dad and a daughter".[9][13] The film cost an estimated $17 million to make, and was funded byPathé Pictures.
Filming on Chomet's live action romantic musical-comedyAttila Marcel took place in Paris from mid-July 2012 and lasted 46 days.[14] It premiered in the Special Presentation section at the2013 Toronto International Film Festival,[15] and was released theatrically in France by Pathé in October that year.[16]
In 2014, acouch gag directed and composed by Chomet aired forThe Simpsons episode "Diggs". It depicts the family running to the couch until the lights go off. Marge leaves to fix the fuse, and when the lights go up, the characters are drawnTriplets of Belleville-style and everything has a French aesthetic to it. Bart plays with a do-it-yourselffoie gras kit, Lisa plays an accordion, Marge cries out, "Maggie? Où est Maggie?" and Homer gets up and eats a snail off the TV, oblivious that Maggie is stuck between his butt cheeks.[17]
In 2015, Chomet directed and co-wrote the animated music video "Carmen" for Belgian musicianStromae.[18]
In 2016, Chomet directed the short filmMerci Monsieur Imada.[19] Later that year, Chomet produced the illustrations forCaleb's Cab, a children's book written by his wife, Sally.[20]
In June 2021, it was announced that Chomet would direct aMarcel Pagnol biopic,The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol.[21]
In 2004, Chomet announced plans to directBarbacoa, a film about a group of escaped zoo animals set during the1871 Paris Commune produced byDjango Films.[22] Originally stated to be released in late 2005, the film was canceled because of lack of funding. Another production, an unnamed 3D project in collaboration with Miramax divisionDimension Films, was also announced.[23]
In 2006,Django Films was reported to be producingThe Clan, ananimated sitcom pilot forBBC to be directed by Chomet. The show, described as "manic" and "surreal", was to have focused on the lives of the dysfunctional inhabitants of a fictional Scottish island, and was labeled "a ScottishSimpsons".[24]
In the mid-2000s, Chomet was hired to directThe Tale of Despereaux. The film's production was marred by disagreements and malpractice, or accusations thereof, between the French, British and North American staff involved. Chomet came up against creative and ethical differences with the producers and was eventually fired from the project and thrown out of the studio space allocated to the film.[25] The film was ultimately directed bySam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen.[26]
In 2012, Chomet was in the early stages of working on a prequel toThe Triplets of Belleville entitledSwing Poppa Swing to focus on the early lives of the elderly singing triplets from the first film.[27]
In 2014, Chomet announced plans to directThe Thousand Miles, a mix of live-action and animation based on various works ofFederico Fellini, including his "unpublished drawings and writings", with a screenplay by Tommaso Rossellini and Demian Gregory.[28] Work was later developed to include producer credit fromEmanuele Filiberto of Savoy. On January 5, 2016,Variety reported that Chomet was moving forward with the film after a lengthy development process, and was expected for a 2017 release.[29] Since then, there has been no news.
In March 2018, it was reported that Chomet would direct an animated adaptation ofHwang Sok-yong's novelFamiliar Things. Chomet was inspired to adapt the novel after becoming interested inKorean culture particularly after seeing the films ofPark Chan-wook.[30]
| Year | Original French Title | English Title | Director | Writer | Composer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | La vieille dame et les pigeons | The Old Lady and the Pigeons | Yes | Yes | No | Short film Also animation director, animator and storyboard artist |
| 2003 | Les Triplettes de Belleville | The Triplets of Belleville | Yes | Yes | No | Also animation director, animator and character designer |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Paris, I Love You | Partial | Partial | No | Segment: "Tour Eiffel" |
| 2010 | L'Illusionniste | The Illusionist | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also editor and character designer |
| 2013 | Attila Marcel | — | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2014 | — | The Simpsons | Partial | No | No | Directed and composedcouch gag Episode: "Diggs" |
| 2016 | Merci Monsieur Imada | Thank You Mister Imada | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film |
| 2024 | — | Joker: Folie à Deux | Partial | No | No | Opening sequence |
| 2025 | — | The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol | Yes | Yes | No | Filming[31] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| International | |
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