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Interview with artistic director Serge Bromberg

Questions: Michel Ocelot

WHERE IS ANNECY GOING ? The new artistic director of Annecy is a young man mad with animation, from an early age. He is a well known figure on French TV, as he writes, produces and presents two animation shows, which reveal unknown treasures to young audiences. He organises as well remarquable spectacles for cinemas (he does himself the piano playing for silent films). Besides, he is a specialist for retauration of ancient films, among many activities related to Motion Picture. For he has been searching and collecting old reels all his life. Through "Lobster", the company he founded, he has one of the biggest collection of old films in the world (animation and live action). We had heard about each other, our activities for Annecy brought us together, and we got on well. Lately, I told him I wanted to have drink with him, to agress him at will about a decision of his, in front of a tape recorder. He graciously accepted (and he paid for the coffees)

NEGATING ANNECY HISTORY Michel Ocelot: "Dear Serge, Annecy festival was created to show the World Disney was not the only one, and to reveal and develop the other animated cinema incidentally, with the help of ASIFA. To have Roy Disney as the Presesident of Honour of the festival is negating this history and ridiculing 40 years of valliant Annecy battles. I find no rational explanation for such a deed."

Serge Bromberg: "This is a good question, which of course I asked myself. Disney or not Disney? At any rate, opposing the invitation of Roy Disney as a president, to the revelation of talents, individualities and works of art, is a gratuitus law suit. Moreover, the selected films which are shown this year are author films, creativity with surprises, quite in the old spirit of Annecy."

Michel Ocelot: "There is no question about how enriching the short film selection is. But you don't answer my question. After 40 years of resistence and discoveries, what is put on the top? Disney."

Serge Bromberg: "We have invited Disney for a particular interest, a salute to Fantasia 2000. But inviting Disney is a way to show him that a hundred years of animation was not a hundred years of Disney. After forty years of festival, a time comes to say: "See, Mr. Disney, this has been going on for forty years. You may have thought you were Animation incarnate, but a whole world of animation has been running parallel to your world, and this may be the real animation". So, should Disney be invited or not?"

Michel Ocelot: "Disney is welcome on the animation scene, where he belongs, but Annecy is not here to publicize Disney production, which does it pretty well itself. The spotlight should be directed elsewhere."

Serge Bromberg: "My idea, my artistic choice, is to leave Annecy its personality, the rendez-vous of all animations, including the animations which are a little more industrial, at any rate a little less individualist. One of the round tables this year will wonder wether the spirit of creativity can survive international coproductions. One should stop thinking about Annecy in term of an animation opposed to Disney World Company. For me, what Annecy is all about is Animation, period. Inviting Disney is a way of meeting and debating. Crews from Disney, Warner, Dreamworks, and so on, may be big bad wolves (at least it is the way some presnt them). But they come to the festival with modesty and a great appetite for new ideas and new talents, and yes, they come to the market place in Annecy and in Europe. Europeans may do the same, but in reality values are different. In America, when a talent is discovered, it is bought. It is bussiness, but what comes out in the end, is American Animated Cinema."

Michel Ocelot: "Fine, but do I have an answer to my asking why Roy Disney was appointed President of Honour of Annecy? Maybe there is no explanation at all..."

Serge Bromberg: "There is a double explanation. Roy Disney is a gentleman who represents, all by himself, Disney, both an industrial company and the inheritance of his oncle. Concerning industry, he is the president of an enormous enterprise, and we wanted to invite him, I insisted on inviting him, because, in his deciding position, he could have stayed comfortable in his president armchair and ordered more "Princess on a pea", "Sherlock Holmes" or a new "Snow White". Instead he seezed the occasion of the year 2000 to revive an old dream of Walt Diney (or an industrial project if you wish...): going on with Fantasia, with new things for new releases. Roy Disney was instrumental in this decision of making up for the leeway and make more sequences with different personalities, techniques, styles. And some publicity on Disney technical excellence, may add some. He probably had to fight against the marketing departement, as there were no toothbrushes, plastic dolls or contracts with fast-food chains, a very poor venture as far as merchandising is concerned. Still, the film is here..."

Michel Ocelot: "Come on, it is bussiness as the rest. Fantasia ended up doing money. The last release was a commercial success, it is then that it was decided to make another one. You hardly can call that "research", and I don't think it is the direction where Disney is at its best."

Serge Bromberg: "Did you see Fantasia 2000?"

Michel Ocelot: "No, I did not, but I saw "Fantasia 1940". I think the strength of Disney is making popular films for the biggest number, and not pretend they are "Kultural". And, again, it is bussiness. The true sweeping cavalcade which will run over any other show and astound us will be the international selection of shorts."

Serge Bromberg: "But of course! Disney as a guest will not hide the rest! President of Honour is only honorary position. I don't give it the same importance as you, even if it does mean something on the direction of the festival. You tell me Disney is going to make money, that Fantasia is a commercial enterprise. But I don't think there is anything wrong in producing a film to make money."

Michel Ocelot: "Neither do I. I am just stopped by such a product being presented as research in place where more daring explorations are commonplace."

Serge Bromberg: "I don't put my head in the sand, "Fantasia 2000" is an industrial venture as well as an experimental film. But I did see "Fantasia 2000", and I must confess I was impressed by some sequences which are really amazing feasts. Some not, of course. When I think about "The Little Soldier" in this collection I realize there are still progresses to make in some directions. The imaginative strength of the Grimault-Prevert version reaches so far beyond this cold computer version. This, of course, is a personal opinion. Annecy is a place were the spectator too can express himself, and when I invite Roy Disney, it may be the spectator Bromberg who has experienced something special and who would like sharing and discussing that experience. I tell you, I really had a fantastic night with "Fantasia 2000". In the same way as I had a fantastic night with "Kirikou"! (smile)

Michel Ocelot: "If that's so, I shall not doubt any more the excellence of your taste. Now, Mr. Art Director of Annecy Festival..."

Serge Bromberg: "Mr. President of ASIFA..."

Michel Ocelot: "...would you please set forth the art policy of Annecy festival?"

Serge Bromberg: "Annecy festival keeps the same orientations and philosophy, with tribute retrospectives, discoveries of new contemporary creators, exhibitions (this year the Folimage studio) with previews, which depend on availability. For example, this year we obviously wanted to show "Chiken run", the first feature by the "Wallace and Grommit" people. It won't be possible, the film still being in the making. Annecy is the meeting point of all animations and all people. In that way, I simply go on with what Jean-Luc Xibberras did. Sometimes I ask my selfİ: "If Xib was here, what would he do?". Obviously, if Xib had been here, he would have knocked me out if I had hinted at Roy Disney as President of Honour..."

Michel Ocelot: "No, not sure."

Serge Bromberg: "Not sure. I don't know. At any rate, it is not my aim to pronounce: we are going to open the doors to Disney. It is even less so to say: we are going to close the doors to Disney."

Michel Ocelot: "This is out of question..."

Serge Bromberg: "I am happy to hear that. This choice of mine possibly is a personal adventure, which parodoxically underlines the continuous spirit of Annecy: a human festival, where dialogues start, projects are set up, where people decide to do things together, start love stories, or terminate them. Organisers have little power over the quality and success of a festival, it mainly depends on the people who make the films and on the people who watch them. Annecy is a festival for filmmakers and for spectators, and for bussinessmen as well, thanks to the market. It all adds up to ferment and enrichement for all "enrichement in a broad meaning"! "

Michel Ocelot: "We all had understood it that way."

Serge Bromberg: "Orientations can be given each year, listening to suggestions from all. Today we are at a crossroad with technology. Animated films use computer technology more and more, it is taught more and more in schools, but is it still animation? For example, is "motion capture" animation? A great question which will be debated in a lecture. I don't have to give my answer, but I have to open Annecy to this debate and wait for answers from the creators. "

Michel Ocelot: "We could quote here the ASIFA definition of Animation."

Serge Bromberg: "Whatever the technique, I think the intention and project of the artist is the important thing. All the hard work, the suffering put into the film is not the point, neither an added merit. If this all this labouring could be bypassed while obtaining the same result, there would be more freedom, more creativity, and more films would reach the public."

Michel Ocelot: "Yes, I feel all techniques are welcome, particularly those which can speed up the process. The time an animated film takes is inhuman, invention four weeks, execution four years..."

Serge Bromberg: "Wether I am a producer for a TV channel or an art director for a festival, my role is to listen, discover and then have people discover. I am a kind of missing link, and so is Annecy. The big retrospective we co-organise with ASIFA, under the masterly guidance of Giannalberto Bendazzi, is along this line of providing the missing link. This Project 2000 will allow a young public to discover all these films they heard about but never reached. Gathering films from such different origins (some had no known owners, others were considered as lost for ever) was a huge and mad task only a festival with the stature of Annecy could undertake."

Michel Ocelot: "On second thoughts, I think I'll go to Annecy 2000..."

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