France, Belgium, Luxembourg, 2025, 90′
In French with Slovenian and English subtitles

Directed by: Sylvain Chomet
Written by: Sylvain Chomet
Music Composer: Stefano Bollani
Sound Editor: Nicolas Leroy
Animation Supervisor: Xiaopeng Jiao
Art director: Lana Choukroune
Producers: Aton Soumache, Ashargin Poiré, Valérie Puech, Lilian Eche
Production: What The Prod, Mediawan, Picture Box, Bidibul Productions
Cast: Laurent Lafitte, Géraldine Pailhas, Thierry Garcia, Anaïs Petit, Vincent Fernandel, Véronique Philipponnat
Distribution in Slovenia: Cenex / Fivia

In 1955, a French women’s magazine asked Marcel Pagnol, the famous French writer, playwright, and director, to write a weekly column about his childhood and youth. Pagnol frustratingly already finds it difficult to recall some of his earlier memories, until his curious inner child comes to life in front of him. Together, they set off to explore Pagnol’s life story, inextricably intertwined with the written word and film images and anecdotes that such an art-abundant life is always full of.

Director’s Statement

Eight years ago, Nicolas Pagnol, Marcel’s grandson, and producers contacted me to ask if I liked Marcel Pagnol. Of course, my answer was a big yes! They were planning a documentary with animated sections to illustrate moments of Pagnol’s life. I told them I found those hybrid documentaries incongruous and that I preferred doing a real documentary entirely from archives. They convinced me to animate two scenes, one with Raimu, Fernandel, and Pagnol, to seek funding and attract other producers. Something interesting happened: only the animated scenes sparked interest. Everyone was moved to see Pagnol, Raimu, and Fernandel come back to life!

For my first film, The Triplets of Belleville, I didn’t want anything but the gestures of the characters. I felt dialogue added nothing to my cinema and I could tell a story entirely through mime. My second film, The Illusionist, was based on an original script by Jacques Tati. As you can imagine, faithful to his style, there was practically no dialogue. For Pagnol, on the other hand, remaining silent was impossible. I realized while preparing the film how essential the human voice is in Pagnol’s work. I drew inspiration from his original texts, more or less dialogued, and reworked them into film dialogues.

It’s a film about the torments of creation. Marcel was very anxious. He thought he never did things well enough. He was a craftsman with the pen, more than an artist. He often returned to his drafts. It took him a long time to convince himself to write a play in the Marseille dialect, Marius. He was quickly discouraged by feedback. But amusingly, he always made use of coincidences and the randomness of creativity.

Awards and festivals (selection):

– Cristal for Best Feature Film Nominee, Annecy IAFF, 2025
– Special Screenings, Cannes FF 2025
– official competition, Golden Horse FF Taipei 2025
– official competition, Thessaloniki IFF 2025
– official competition, Busan IFF 2025
– official competition, French Film Festival London 2025