Interview with Director Camille Laloux (NOVEMBER UNDER ASHES)

Short Film played at the first ever EXPERIMENTAL/MUSIC VIDEO FEEDBACK Film Festival in July 2017.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

Camille Laloux: I made this film for two main reasons that completed each other :

– First, I fell in love with the artist Zoé Simpson, her songs and universe, and I was craving for taking part in her adventure.
– Second, I was (and still am) obsessed by film animation and everything that it allows to explore and create and I really wanted to try my hand on it !

When I heard November Under Ashes for the first time I was completely inspired and thought that it was perfect for what I wanted to try in animation.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?

From the idea to the finished product it took me about 4 months. Not full time, because I was working on other stuff at the same time, but it was still really intensive.

How would you describe your short film in two words!?

Wow, that’s a hard one !
I would say rhythmic and visual.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

It really was the time that animation takes. It was the very first time for me and I had to deal with my absence of knowledge and experience in this domain and the fact that it was a very long work even when your a profesionnal animator. So…Long hard hours both learning and working, never really knowing if the result would worth it !

But I now think that it worthed it, so I’m proud of the perseverance I had then.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was moved and happy. It really is a joy to see people you’ve never met who are in any way moved by your work.

How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

The song interested me in the way that it has a double vision in it : The melody is upbeat, rhythmic, dancing and energetic. So there is joy, celebration, life in it. But it’s also the rhythm of a beating heart, a terrorised heart. The lyrics express this double vision too : The facts that are depicted are terribly sad and hard, but still the singer claims her love to life and joy and her will to make it last as long as there is any hope in her world.

So, I wanted to bring visually these different aspects of the song by the confrontation between film and animation, black&white and colors, etc.

What film have you seen the most in your life?

I’m not sure, but I think Hayao Miyazaki’s films. I think I’ve seen them all at least 3 times each and for some it can easily reach 10 or 15 times.

You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the new(ish) submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?

I don’t really know because this is the first time that I send my work to festivals so I don’t really have comparison elements. But I like the way that you can easily connect with a lot of festivals, no matter if they’re big ones or new little ones.

What song have you listened to the most times in your life?

That’s reeaaally hard !!! But I think that’s a classic one : Imagine, by John Lennon. (If I don’t count November under ashes because when you work on a song you have to listen to it an infinity of times !!)

What is next for you? A new film?

Of course ! It will be a new video clip I think, because it’s really a format that I enjoy very much.

 

NOVEMBER UNDER ASHES, 3min, France, Music Video Directed by Camille LalouxNovember under ashes is a cri du coeur, a song, an hymn in which personal and national mournings are melted, a heartbeat of fear, of strength and an ode to life. Under the ashes of a dear person and of scores of innocent people killed in Paris attacks, on the 13th of November, a young woman retraces her subway route and thoughts details which leads her to see the death by singing the life. CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!