07/03/2014 - The latest production from Folimage, directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd, uses hand-drawn and traditional imagery to raise awareness of nature

The French production studio Folimage has managed to carve a significant niche for itself in the world of European animation, thanks to Raining Cats and Frogs in 2003, Mia and the Migoo [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2008, 2010’s Oscar-nominated A Cat in Paris [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and, now, with Aunt Hilda! [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jacques-Rémy Girerd
film profile]. The title’s director (and founder of the company) Jacques-Rémy Girerd, who directed all of the above films apart from A Cat in Paris, once again demonstrates with Aunt Hilda! his taste for unassuming and naturalistic cinema. This is a preference that even pervades the spirit of the main character here, Hilda: a woman who lives a very simple life, as she is both integrated into and governed by nature. The movie has been chosen to close the Anima Festival in Brussels.

Voiced by Sabine Azéma, a regular contributor to the work of the late Alain Resnais, Hilda lives in her huge greenhouse on top of a mountain. Here, together with her aged parents (a couple of botanists), she has a small jungle in which she preserves every conceivable plant and flower. She comes into contact with the outside world while travelling from place to place on her bicycle. She mainly meets up with a scientist called Michael, who soon leaves his job at the chemical fertiliser company DOLO. His boss, Dolorès, has ideas far above her station, and when her evil plans (mainly concerning a harmful and invasive crop called Attilem) threaten the Earth’s entire ecological system, Hilda and Michael decide that something must be done.

Aunt Hilda! toys with an environmental message through its leanings towards a younger audience, and through its visual approach and unassuming stylistics. Girerd and his co-director, Benoît Chieux, have set out on a little mission, hidden beneath the story’s imagery: namely, to bring up the negative aspects of genetically modified organisms and industrial-scale crops. However, how is it possible to ensure that something so firmly aimed at adults will also be attractive to younger audiences? Hilda’s story is told at an entertaining pace, and it includes elements of fantasy and romance, as well as having a family feel to it.

The film was produced by Girerd for Folimage Production, together with Luxembourg-based Mélusine Productions, and it is benefitting from the support of Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and France 3 Cinéma.

(Translated from Spanish)