13th Festival du Film Merveilleux & Imaginaire de Paris

20 – 22 September 2023

Christine Cinema Club, 4 rue Christine 75006 PARIS

Admission price: €6.00 – Cards accepted: UGC unlimited

This year, the Festival du Film Merveilleux 2023‘s jury is composed of: Jean-François Camilleri (President of Echo Studio and Founding Partner of Pathé BC Afrique), the president of the jury, as well as Victoria Zadorska (Director, Screenwriter and Author), Guillaume Levil (Screenwriter and Director), Xavier Laurent (Actor and Screenwriter), Magdalena Korpas (artist, actress, model and director) and Kaze A. Onguene (futurist and tech-entrepreneur).

Jury 2023

Film Director 2023

Synopsis 2023

PROGRAMMATION FESTIVAL DU FILM MERVEILLEUX 2023

OKMO by Lola DUBETTIER, Romain PERSET

Year: 2023

Runtime: 12’30

Production: Metamo Production

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Once upon a time, there was a boy born from a tree. Etan was raised by all the inhabitants of the Okmo tree-father. The insects, the squirrels, the wind, and the fairies taught him the meaning of life.
Etan wanted to become like his father, but he couldn’t.
Thanks to his friend, the fairy Lify, he started a journey to grow up by himself.

Credits: Director: Lola Dubettier; Romain Perset. Writer: Lola Dubettier. Producer: Cyril Patin. Key cast: “The storyteller” – Ana Girardot; “Etan” – Jules Ricordeau.

© Metamo Production, 2023

Screening day: 22 September

MIRAGE by Jeanne DRESSEN

Year: 2023

Runtime: 17’3

Production: O·H·N·K

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Alexis is sent to a low-income apartment building by a cleaning company to find the cleaning lady who disappeared. This simple quest turns into an odyssey of initiation.

Credits: Line producer: Thierry Bohnke. Assistant director: Justine Cohendet. Sound engineer: Emmanuel Le Gall. Executive producer: Thierry Bohnke. Scriptwriter: Jeanne Dressen. Director of photography: Léo Schrepel. Assistant operator: Marilou Caravati. Camera operator: Matthieu Abily. Production director: Julien Triger. Film editors: Juliette Kempf, Cécile Perlès. Sound editor: Romain Le Bras. Script: Angélique Mary. Production designer: Alexandre Rossi. Music composer: Alexandre Zapata. Casting: Sophie Martin. Costume designer: Marilou Caravati. Grader: Eudes Quittelier. Make-up artist: Eugénie Boucon. Sound mixer: Romain Le Bras. Sound designer: Alexandre Zapata.

© O·H·N·K, 2023

Screening day: 21 September

Ana Morphose by Joao RODRIGUES

Year: 2021

Runtime: 10′

Production: Bando a Parte

Country: PORTUGAL

Synopsis: A little girl reads herself to sleep. As she dozes off, the physical world starts melting into an alternate reality where the contents of a book rule over the laws of physics. Ana has to escape being swallowed by the overwhelming accumulation of printed knowledge and find her own space in a world where nothing is what it seems.

Credits: Director: Joao Rodrigues. Writer: Joao Rodrigues. Producer: Rodrigo Areias.

© Bando a Parte, 2021

Screening day: 20 September

Chronolovie by Victor CESCA, Clémence ROCAND

Year: 2021

Runtime: 7’52

Production: Blast production

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: A look, a melody, that’s how their love story begins. Suspended above the ocean, the couple progress where music, dance steps, and emotions intermingle.
Two souls, one life: this is the story of Chronolovie.

Credits: Directors: Victor Cesca, Clémence Rocand. Writers: Victor Cesca, Clémence Rocand. Producers: Amiel Tenenbaum, Simon Pénochet. Choreographer: Clémence Rocand. Music: Jacques Raffin. Operators: Kevin Larat, Damien Lejosne, Chloé Chatellier. Costume designer: Clémence Rocand. Stage managers: Ana Bargagli, Christelle Lecureur. Control room assistants: Romain Gallard, Gabin Baud. Make-up artist: Fernand Ajagamelle, Ana Bargagli. Editor: Victor Cesca. Sound editor: Victor Cesca. Sound mixing: Denis Grangier Nocetti. VFX Artists: Pierre-André Fontaine, Romain Perrin, Kevin Larat. Grader: Lydia Lopez. Key cast: Maya Bizel, Jean Duigou, Simon Larvaron, Hélène Degy, Bastien Guio, Julie Guio, Eliot Duplessy.

© Blast Production, 2021

Screening day: 20 September

There is Nothing Nice Deep Within by Fiorella SPITZER

Year: 2022

Runtime: 7’35

Production: Budapest Metropolitan University

Country: HUNGARY

Synopsis: A girl’s repressed feelings burst to the surface like devastating fire, destroying reality, forcing her to flee to a subconscious world where she has to face her demons.

Credits: Director: Fiorella Spitzer. Producer: Melinda Kiss. Music and sound design: András Pongor. Production manager: Krisztina Holló-Leleszi.

© Budapest Metropolitan University, 2022

Screening day: 22 September

Kafka’s Doll by Bruno SIMOES

Year: 2022

Runtime: 10′

Production: Animanostra / WKND / Studio Kimchi / Lusco Fusco Animation

Country: SPAIN

Synopsis: Inspired by an unproven myth, Kafka’s Doll is an animated short film that blends factual research, fiction, fantasy and myth into a single heart-warming story about loss.

Credits: Director: Bruno Simões. Writer: Bruno Simões. Producers: Humberto Santana, Roger Torras, Celine Fernandes. Art: Cecilia Puglesi. Editing: Bruno Simões. Sound: Bruno Oliveira. Music: Aurélien Vieira Lino.

© Animanostra, WKND, Studio Kimchi, Lusco Fusco Animation, 2022

Screening day: 22 September

MENTAL SOIREE by Alberto ARELLANO

Year: 2022

Runtime: 5′

Production: Chptr by bites

Country: SPAIN

Synopsis: A Manual for a study of Telepathy in 3 steps leads the story trough an evocative universe. The mind is like a shipwreck, which always leaves remains on the beach…the film tells the story of two shipwrecked people who meet in an unique soirée. ¨We truly recommend to the viewer to follow strictly the steps and test the experiment by theirselves.¨

Credits: Director: Alberto Arellano. Writer: Alberto Arellano. Producer: Jakub Laskus. Key cast: Irena Jankowska, Jourdan Copeland. Cinematography: Mikolaj Krawczunas. Art: Zuza Slominska. Editing: Alberto Arellano. Sound: The lobby. Music: Edu Martinez.

© Chptr by bites, 2022

Screening day: 20 September

Hot Rod by Juliette GILOT

Year: 2022

Runtime: 17’02

Production: White Star

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Summer 2031, 104°. Saadia, 16, is oriented in mechanical school although the car industry is in crisis and there are only a few electric cars in circulation. Her friends, Charly and Titi, throw a joke to cheer her up: what if the car of the future was a horse?
Against all odds, Saadia trades her scooter for a massive workhorse which she brings back to the heart of her housing project…

Credits: Director: Juliette Gilot. Writer: Juliette Gilot. Producer: Lucie Portehaut. Cinematography: Romain Prouveur. Editing: Juliette Gilot. Sound engineer: Fabien Beillevaire. Sound Editing: Luc Meilland. Mixing: Xavier Thieulin. Music: Victor Pitoiset, Ares Beats and Anakin. Production supervisor: Lucy-Blue Ferry. Costume designer: Nolwenn Caudan. Set designer: Inès Pons-Mora.

© White Star, 2022

Screening day: 20 September

A Fairy Tale by Zoé ARENE

Year: 2022

Runtime: 19’49

Production: Wrong Men / TopShop Films / BTBF

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Apprentice filmmaker, Juan makes a documentary portrait of Coco, a thirty-something-year-old marginal. The film is quickly called into question when Juan discovers that Coco thinks she’s a fairy in a disenchanted society.

Credits: Director: Zoé Arène. Writer: Zoé Arène. Producers: Benoît Roland, Bastien Daret, Arthur Goisset, Robin Robles. Key cast: Aline Mahaux – “Coco”, Juliàn Gomez – “Juan”, Laurent Micheli – “Employé Actiris”, Romane Verplancken – “Petite fille”, Marc Van Bossche – “Merlin”, Kimi Amen – “Prince charmant”, Camille Deleu – “Serveuse”.

© Wrong Men, TopShop Films, BTBF, 2022

Screening day: 21 September

Bad Seed by Nadège HERRYGERS

Year: 2022

Runtime: 12′

Production: Duno Films

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: In a city, Sadia is involved in a mysterious traffic. One of her friends, Arthur, surprises her and discovers what she is hiding. He will have to make a choice…

Credits: Director: Nadège Herrygers. Writer: Nadège Herrygers. Producer: Jérémie Chevret. Production director: Malorie Yvorel. Casting: Nell Geeraerd, Léo Moreau. Assistant director: Harold Deluermoz. Staging trainee: Céline Desvignes-Gleisz. Script: Paola Petit-Brisson. Development manager: Maxime Fournier. Director of photography: Nicolas Berteyac. Assistants operator: Kevin Pusceddu, Luc Peiser. Steadycamer: Alexandre Violaz. Photographer: Nicolas Bono. Stage manager: Xavier Corrochano. Control room assistant: Valentin Courel, André Gabriel Vermorel. Sound: Julien Gonzalez. Perchmen: Romain Bossoutrot. Head machinist: Clément Aubert. Machinist: Alexandre Charles. Machinist trainee: Anastasia Ode. Head electrician: Charles Sayer. Electrician: Maxime Robert. Electrician trainee: Victor Gelis. Make-up artist: Béatrice Le Gal. Head costume designer: Mariève Schiettecatte. Costume designer: Malou Galinou. Production designer: Angélique Monbeig. Assistant production designer: Emma Perret. Accessory maker: Noémie Le Forestier. Film editor: Aurélie Redouté. Assistant film editor: Stéphanie Merken, Stéphane Lambert. Grader: Chiara Pontuali. Sound mixer: Thomas Noël.

© Duno Films, 2022

Screening day: 21 September

Home of the Heart by Sarah SAIDAN

Year: 2022

Runtime: 14’32

Production: Caïmans Productions

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Omid is an Iranian immigrant who came to France with his family. One evening, in the street, he is attacked and stabbed in the heart. But Omid gets back up! At the hospital, the diagnosis is formal: he has no heart. Has he left it behind in Iran?

Credits: Director: Sarah Saidan. Writer: Sarah Saidan. Producers: Camille Condemi, Jérôme Barthélemy, Daniel Sauvage. Key cast: Saeed Mirzaei – “Omid”.

© Caïmans Productions, 2022

Screening day: 21 September

Darb’oħra (Another Time) by Sarah ZAMMIT

Year: 2022

Runtime: 13’33

Production: University of Malta

Country: MALTA

Synopsis: Ben, a young boy with a keen and curious mind, stumbles upon a charming little toyshop in the heart of a Maltese village. Intrigued by its potential mysteries, he wanders in. Among the mechanical treasures and skilled woodwork lying inside, Ben’s attention lingers on a mysterious hidden object on one of the shelves. Overwhelmed by his curiosity, he discovers something he could never have imagined, that will take him on a journey into the captivating mysteries of Time and Space.

Credits: Director: Sarah Zammit. Writer: Sarah Zammit. Producers: Jean-Pierre Borg, Julian Guillaumier, Sarah Zammit. Key Cast: Aidan Cauchi – “Ben”, Mark Mifsud – “Adult Ben”, Joe Quattromani – “Craftman”, Nadine Borg – “Lisa”, Naomi Said – “Ben’s sister”.

© University of Malta, 2022

Screening day: 20 September

The Call of Water by Kaya TONE

Year: 2022

Runtime: 19′

Production: Tone Productions

Country: USA

Synopsis: Flung into the astral-plane, Nadia must face ancient forces in order to realize her responsibility to her homeland.

Credits: Director: Kaya Tone. Writer: Kaya Tone. Producers: David M. Night Maire, Brian Plain, Tim Preston. Key cast: Trinity Simpson – “Nadia”, Emily Bollman – “Trish”, Sawyer Wright – “The horned one”, Eric Palmer – “Bret”, Rebecca Hamner – “Caroline”, Tamara Jakos – “Sarah”, Haiden Davis – “Teg”.

© Tone Productions, 2022

Screening day: 20 September

Town Hall Square by Christian KAUFMANN

Year: 2023

Runtime: 8’35

Production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

Country: GERMANY

Synopsis: Bernard works behind the windows of a ticket booth at the Town Hall Square subway station and is waiting for something he seems to have forgotten. One day, however, a little tiger shows up and turns Bernard’s orderly life upside down. A short film about an unexpected visitor, annoying radio songs and the lust for life!

Credits: Director: Christian Kaufmann. Writer: Christian Kaufmann. Producer: Paulina Larson. Key cast: Lou Hirsch, Linsay Rousseau. Music: Tobias Wieduwilt. Sound: Thomas Rother. Animation: Vanessa Schneider, Laura Staab, Yannick Stark, Felicitas Schmelz, Christian Kaufmann. Art direction: Tanja Nuijten, Paul Vollet, Christian Kaufmann. Technical director: Justus Schmidt. Compositing: Justus Schmidt, Christian Kaufmann.

© Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, 2022

Screening day: 21 September

Spationautes by Milan ENGUEHARD-SOUC

Year: 2022

Runtime: 4’23

Production: Atelier de Sèvres

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Thir and Leto, two biologists and botanists, are on board their ship on the outskirts of a vast alien planet. They venture out in search of a rare flower, travelling through plains, forests, towns and villages, meeting natives and animals, collecting what they need to complete their quest… If they can find it.

Credits: Animation: Milan Enguehard-Souc. Script: Milan Enguehard-Souc. Film editor: Milan Enguehard-Souc. Mix: Raphael Aucler. Soundtrack: Nathan Robain.

© Atelier de Sèvres, 2022

Screening day: 21 September

Search for the Human by Mélina IENCO, Lucie JURIC, Caroline LEIBEL, Faustine MERLE, Claire PELLET

Year: 2022

Runtime: 6’44

Production: GOBELINS

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: In a fantasy world, a griffin embraces his fate and goes on an epic journey to find a legendary creature: The Human.

Credits: Animation, Script and film editor: Mélina Ienco, Lucie Juric, Caroline Leibel, Faustine Merle, Claire Pellet. Key cast: Jean-Christophe Lebert, David Faure, Magali Rosenzweig, Mathieu Tiger, Clément Naline. Sound engineer: Mathieu Tiger, Clément Naline. Sound editor and mix: Mathieu Tiger. Soundtrack: Julien Vermeulen.

© Gobelins, 2022

Screening day: 22 September

Midnight Hotel by Vincent ALBERT, Neïl DIEU, Malo DOUCET, May TARAUD, Marie TOURY

Year: 2022

Runtime: 6’46

Production: GOBELINS

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: What if it were possible to meet one another in our sleep? One night, three strangers find themselves in a Hotel of dreams. They must navigate this strange world together before dawn.

Credits: Animation: Neïl Dieu, Malo Doucet, May Taraud, Marie Toury, Clément Delaby, Marie Hareux, Pauline Joury, Jean Lagorce, Odelia Laine, Camille Lherminier, Hector Lollier, Candice Loret, Lucille Rizzo, Alessandra Rosmarino. Script: Vincent Albert, Neïl Dieu, Malo Doucet, May Taraud, Marie Toury. Key cast: “The inhabitant” – Christian Pelissier, “The bereaved” – Elise Pettigrew, “The child” – Aloïs Le Labourier Tiêu. Sound engineer: Nadège Feyrit, David Couturier. Sound editor: Nadège Feyrit. Mix: Clément Naline. Soundtrack: Félix Meyer, Jonas Roth.

Screening day: 22 September

The World’s After by Florentina GONZALEZ

Year: 2022

Runtime: 11′

Production: Autour de Minuit

Country: FRANCE / ARGENTINA

Synopsis: Mankind no longer exists, only Fluor and Carlix remain, two ghosts in sportswear. They wander among the remains of an extinct civilization, one in search of a WiFi connection, the other in search of the head of a giant cetacean. A story of encounter and friendship, punctuated by a final playlist: that of the end of the world.

Credits: Director, Graphic design, Editing: Florentina Gonzalez. Script: Florentina Gonzalez, Luz Marquez. Animation: Marianne Lemoigne, Eloïse Rauzier, Jeanne Griseri, Marvin Moal, Suzanne Matharan. Compositing: Florentina Gonzalez, Pablo Kondratas. Music: Juana Molina. Sound design, Sound editing: Piste Rouge. Voice cast: Maruja Bustamante, Marcela Peidro.

Screening day: 20 September

Out of the Blue by Taya BEN JEBARA, Carl CASTAN, Orane DE GOUTTES-PEGOT, Camille DEPAY, Sana DUPONT, Alice BASTIEN

Year: 6’25

Runtime: 2022

Production: Ecole Georges Méliès

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: In a monochromatic city where everybody looks like one another, a painter arrives one day with the goal of offering diversity. Carrying a gigantic trailer, she will soon disturb the peaceful harmony of the town by transforming one of its inhabitants…

Credits: Directors, Script: Taya Ben Jebara, Carl Castan, Orane de Gouttes–Pegot, Camille Depay, Sana Dupont, Alice Bastien. Graphic design: Carl Castan, Taya Ben jebara. Editing: Taya Ben Jebara, Camille Depay. Sets: Alice Bastien, Camille Depay, Sana Dupont. Animation: Carl Castan, Orane de Gouttes–Pegot, Camille Depay, Taya Ben Jebara, Sana Dupont. Special effects: Taya Ben Jebara. Compositing: Sana Dupont, Taya Ben Jebara, Camille Depay. Music: Olivier Michelot. Sound design, Sound editing: Lauriane Loppinet. Voice cast: Taya Ben Jebara, Carl Castan, Julien Parmentier

Screening day: 21 September

La Calesita by Augusto SCHILLACI

Year: 2022

Runtime: 9’37

Production: Reel Fx Animation

Country: ARGENTINA / CANADA / USA

Synopsis: A heartfelt story of the beloved Argentinian merry-go-round operators who have dedicated their lives to providing fun and happiness to children and their neighborhoods. This is a story of perseverance and community above the individual.

Credits: Director, Script: Augusto Schillaci. Editing: Amy Grieshaber. Animation Supervisor: Sébastien Bruneau. VFX Supervisor: Elizabeth Hauser Hemme. Modeling Supervisor: Nathan Smithson. Music: Yazmina Raies. Sound design, Mix: TJ Callaway (MPSE), Frank Pittenger. Executive Producers: Steve O’Brien, Donna Henry.

Screening day: 22 September

PLSTC by Laen SANCHES

Year: 2022

Runtime: 1’37

Production: Laen Sanches

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Welcome to the world of PLSTC, an undersea dystopia that submerges you in the disturbing reality of plastic pollution. Through a series of graphically confronting AI-generated and hand-composited images, this animated film confronts you with the devastating consequences of our habits on marine life and leaves you gasping for breath.

Credits: Director, Script, Graphic design, Animation, Editing, Special effects: Laen Sanches. Music: Premium Production Tracks provided by Pond5. Sound design : Magnus Monfeldt, Nick Smith. Sound editing: Stainless Sound

Screening day: 22 September

Slipping Away by Gabriel HENOT-LEFEVRE

Year: 2022

Runtime: 14′

Production: Folimage, Gebeka Films

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: In a sanatorium by the sea, an old man finds his life transfigured by the arrival of a seagull, that he delicately tames. When the seagull gets wounded, the man takes care of her, and for a brief moment, he returns to boyhood again.

Credits: Director, Script, Graphic design, Sets: Gabriel Hénot-Lefèvre. Editing: Antoine Rodet. Animation: Gabriel Hénot-Lefèvre, Thomas Murrel, Mathilda Sprauel. Compositing: Guillaume Levasseur, Rémi Soyez. Music: Olivier Militon. Sound editing: Dorine Le Lay, Quentin Robert. Foley: Baptiste Boucher. Mix: Rémi Seznec. Voice cast: Christian Desmet. Singer: Sébastien Lemoine.

Screening day: 20 September

Drone by Sean BUCKELEW

Year: 2023

Runtime: 15’33

Production: E.D Films

Country: USA

Synopsis: The CIA attempts a rebrand by installing a Predator drone with an onboard AI personality named Newton to serve as an ethical and compassionate voice to defend and justify the use of lethal force. At the press rollout, a malfunction causes the drone to go rogue. The livestream of the event is an instant viral sensation, and the world watches as the runaway drone attempts to understand its purpose in the world. On the ground, CIA personnel scramble to figure out how to salvage the situation and capitalize on the sudden rush of attention.

Credits: Writer and director: Sean Buckelew. Producer: Jeanette Jeanenne. Key Cast: Finn Wittrock, Jim True-Frost, Shirley Chen, Mo Collins, Darnell Kirkwood. Music and sound: Skillbard. Orchestration: Finn McNicholas. Orchestra: Budapest Art Orchestra. Design: Wes McClain, Alex Murray-Clark, David Delafuente. Animation: Lead Animator, Sean Buckelew. Animator: Vincent Tsui. Effects Animation: Nicole Staffford. Additional Animation & Color: Kyle Brooks. Thanks: Rachel Ho, Joe Bennett, Danny Madden, Chris Sullivan, Carl Burton, Charles Huettner, Draško Ivezić, Jelena Popović, Marco de Blois, Juan Riedinger, Najeeb Taraz, Irene Kotlarz, Paul Vester, Jason Carpenter. 3D Animation: Daniel Gies, Eric Max Kaplin. Producer E.D. FILMS: Emily Paige. Executive Producer E.D. FILMS: Archita Ghosh.

Screening day: 21 September

Opulence by Clément RIERE

Year: 2022

Runtime: 19’14

Production: Capricci Films

Country: FRANCE

Synopsis: Mathilde, a comic strip artist, lives alone in a house-studio in the country. While she’s working hard on her new futuristic adventures album of Saul, her astronaut hero, she is offered a box of old pencils by her neighbor, a second-hand dealer, without imagining for a moment that they have an extraordinary power. Thanks to them, everything Mathilde draws can come true.

Credits: Director: Clément Rière. Producer: Thierry Lounas. Script: Clément Rière. Key cast: Paloma Coquant, Frédéric Kneip, Jérémy Barbier D’Hiver. Director of Photography: Denis Louis. Editor: Méloé Poillevé. Music: Christophe Marejano.