Synopsis

Based on an unproduced script by Jacques Tati, the film follows forlorn and timeworn Tatischeff, a shabby but dignified magician trying to find an audience in a world of fifties rock and roll and consumerism. Tatischeff, a relic from the days of spectacle, is forced to book increasingly far-flung shows just to earn a living. His lonely journeys bring him to Edinburgh, where he meets a poor Gaelic lass who naively believes that he is, in fact, magic. The animation in The Illusionist is a stunning impressionistic study of muted colours and fog-shrouded Scottish hills, with particular attention paid to the study of light, both natural and incandescent, the calibre of which is rarely seen in contemporary animation. (…) The moving story of the journey from innocence to experience and of a fading way of life, The Illusionist is a loving portrayal of Tati’s life and the bond between two dreamers. (Cameron Bailey)

Sylvain Chomet

Sylvain Chomet (1963) graduated animation from the School of visual arts in Angoulême. Whilst actively writing and publishing graphic novels, he began his career in animation in 1988 working as an assistant at Richard Purdum’s studio in London, but quickly afterwards he began a freelance career. In 1989 he made his first animated short film, La vieille dame et les pigeons which was completed in 1996 and was nominated for an Oscar in 1997. Soon he started to work on his first animated feature film, The Triplets of Belleville. The movie took five years to make and was sold to more than 33 countries worldwide. The Triplets of Belleville was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Song at the 2004 Academy Awards. Recently he wrote and directed a five-minute live action slot for the collaborative feature film involving 20 internationally acclaimed directors, Paris je t'aime. A live action musical feature film set in 1970s Paris is currently in development in partnership with Paris je t’aime producer Claudie Ossard.