Beyond the Screen

What got you into animation? Was there an artist who inspired you or was there a key moment?

I was a teenager in the 90s, and it was also a very exciting time for stop-motion: the first three WALLACE & GROMIT films and THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS came out together with stop-motion films from countries of the former Soviet Union, which were very difficult to see before then. It was the films by Jan Svankmajer, Jiri Tranka and all these great masters of animation that really – and forever – influenced me.

Your short film CANARD (DUCK) has generated a lot of discussion. How did you come up with this idea?

There are two sources of inspiration for my film: on the one hand, a Yiddish fairy tale, presumably of Hungarian origin, that had a huge impact on me when I heard it years ago – even though I deviated from it, especially with the more fantastical, more horror-like tone that my film took on. On the other hand, at the time of writing, couples in my close circle of friends were trying to have children, sometimes with great difficulty; I was both touched and fascinated by their distress, at times also by their rage and helplessness, but also by how this pervaded their daily lives, as well as their dreams and their subconscious.

Bernadett Bricout (Arte) describes CANARD (DUCK) as a horror story. The unfulfilled desire to have a child, the cosmic egg of a duck and the search for harmony...

For me, CANARD is simply an animal onto which the heroine of the film can project her utter disappointment in not being able to fulfil her desire to have children. The duck becomes the third element in the relationship between her and her husband and this little grain of sand that disrupts the very fragile fabric of their everyday life. At the end of the film, her husband turns into a duck, which also presents another possible interpretation of who the ducks are in this henhouse... For me, the egg represents the mystery of creation. With an egg, you never know what’s inside: Is it good, has it expired; is it dead or alive, fertile or infertile? Only when it hatches do you get the answer to all these questions that totally overwhelm us. I loved using this in film in many different forms and symbols.

Have animated feature films become more popular in Switzerland?

Yes, there are more and more projects in development and in production. The problem is still the same: at a very high cost per minute, it is a format that is currently difficult to finance due to a lack of available funds.

Are there stories that are better suited to animation?

I believe that all subjects can be addressed in animation, even the toughest or most grown-up ones. Whether in MEIN LEBEN ALS ZUCCHINI, WALTZ WITH BASHIR or CHICKEN RUN, animation makes it possible to tackle all complex issues sensitively, but also with the distance and metaphors that the stylisation of the characters allows.

Are there any techniques you would like to try out?

Yes, for one of my next projects I would like to use cut-out animation on claymation, but also stop-motion animation in nature, outside of a studio. And although drawing or painting are not my usual mediums at all, I would love to try animated picture-by-picture painting. I think every story needs its own technique. And I have stories to tell that are not well suited for stop-motion – the techniques I’ve been working with for 20 years.

You have worked on many feature-length animation films, including SAUVAGES, which is about to premiere, or NO DOGS OR ITALIANS ALLOWED, which received a lot of praise. What about your own feature film?

To be completely honest, I feel I’m ready to direct or codirect a feature-length stop-motion film. However, I’m still missing the most important thing: a good story that I can tell in more than an hour. I’m not in a hurry, but it’s a very appealing format!