In-Conversation with Michel Ocelot
Michel Ocelot is a legend of the animation world. Born in the French Riviera, he spent his childhood between Guinea and the Loire Valley before settling in Paris, where he studied. He did military service in the Army Cinema, where he made animated films that could not be shown because of military secrecy. He began making short animated films in the 1970s. All of his works have been based on his own scripts and drawings. Among his short films, he directed The 3 Inventors (1980 Bafta for the best-animated film, London), followed by The Legend of the Poor Hunchback (1983 César for the best animated short film, Paris). In 1998, Michel Ocelot became known to the general public with the success of his first feature film Kirikou and the Sorceress. He then released Princes and Princesses, fairy tales in a shadow theater using cut-out animation, and Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, co-directed with Bénédicte Galup. Azur & Asmar (2007), his 4th feature film, is another fairy tale set on both sides of the Mediterranean: it was selected for the Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight. He has gone on to even greater successes,Dilili in Paris, set in the Belle Epoque, won the 2019 Cesar award. His latest film Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess, is playing at the Red Sea IFF.
Other movies
6 AM
Director: Mehran Modiri
Sarah is leaving Teheran for three years to study for her doctorate in Canada. Her flight is at 6 am. After an emotionally fraught final dinner with her family, she heads to an impromptu farewell party at her friend Farida’s apartment, intending to go straight to the airport afterwards. That plan implodes, however, when the morality police swoop in. Drinks are emptied, musical instruments hidden and women put on their overcoats, while Sarah is seized with terror that they will all be arrested – and she, of course, will miss her plane. Mehran Modiri, Iran’s popular satirist, who also has a chilling cameo as a police hostage negotiator, proves here that he is just as at home with a nail-biting drama.
SIMA’S SONG
Director: Roya Sadat
Afghanistan in 1972 is a cauldron of opposing political forces. Suraya, part of an influential political family, becomes head of the dominant Communist Party’s women’s organisation, believing it is the best hope for equal rights. Her friend Sima is sceptical of all politics and, as a talented musician, is dedicated to her traditional art and its romantic themes. Despite their differences, these two young women remain best friends through university, even when Sima marries and starts attending Muslim Youth meetings. When the army starts arresting Muslim activists, Suraya helps her friends escape to the mountains and the protection of the mujahadeen, but war follows them. The film is a marvellous testament to the courage and loyalty of Afghani women in the face of constant adversity.
MY FRIEND AN DELIE
Director: Zijian Dong
This remarkable adaptation of Shuang Xuetao’s novel is the debut film from actor-turned-director Dong Zijian that flashes back and forth in time to tell a touching story of friendship and family strife. Following his father’s death, Limo (Liu Haoran) is flying back to his hometown in northeastern China, when he spots his childhood friend An Delie (played by director Zijian) (Dong) on the plane, who fails to recognise him. When their flight is diverted because of heavy snow, the duo go on a journey that brings back long-forgotten memories in which Limo has to deal with the demons from his past. Beautifully photographed by Pema Tsedan across two time periods, the film shows the long-term emotional impact of the traumas of our childhood.
RED PATH
Director: Lotfi Achour
Ashraf, a shepherd boy working with his teenage cousin in impoverished northern Tunisia faces the unimaginable when Islamic State terrorists set on them and behead his cousin Nizar in front of him. Ashraf has no choice but to take the head back to his family, who can do nothing: the terrorists are a constant threat, while the police are indifferent to the problems of poor herders. Nizar’s parents fixate on trying to recover his body for a proper burial, but Ashraf has no way of dealing with his trauma, clinging to the visions he has of Nizar during which he can talk to his cousin’s ghost. An extraordinary journey into the wounded psyche of a child in a war zone, heightened by Ali AlHleili’s captivating performance.
