Synopsis

At an average cycle of six seconds, an animated painting illustrates a fragment of an opera. The idea of the film was to use just 144 drawings for a fairly long film, the 144 immense cellulose drawings are seen only partially via a camera movement travelling spirally from the edges to the centre, finally to discover the entire scene and to unveil the artifice.

Georges Schwizgebel

Animation director Georges Schwizgebel has created a remarkably original body of work. His films are marked by masterful technical execution, a playful approach to narrative, spectacular formalism, and the intermingling of visuals and music. His first film, The Flight of Icarus, launched a prolific career, boasting numerous awards at prestigious international festivals like Cannes, Annecy, Animafest Zagreb, Hiroshima, Stuttgart, Ottawa, and Espinho. The Ride to the Abyss (1992) is regularly cited as one of the finest animated films of all time. In 2017, Georges Schwizgebel received the Honorary Cristal in Annecy, followed by the Honorary Award of the Swiss Film Awards in 2018. In 2019, he was awarded the French insignia of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. He is the most awarded author in the history of Animafest, and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.