Sylvain Chomet: “Without Pagnol, there would have been no Audiard and the New Wave”

While ten films by Marcel Pagnol are returning to theaters, the director of The Illusionist is preparing Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol, which is due for release in 2025. Interview.

The Cinémathèque honors Marcel Pagnol50 years after his death, by teaming up with Carlotta to offer a major retrospective within the establishment, as well as ten of his achievements throughout France: Marius, Fanny, Cesar, Jofroi, Angèle, Regain, Le Schpountz, The Baker's Wife, The Well-Digger's Daughter And Topazall released in the 1930s to 1950s. They have been re-released in 4K for the occasion.

In view of this tribute, Yohan Haddad met Sylvain Chometwho is currently preparing an animated film about the writer and filmmaker entitled Marcel and Mr. Pagnolscheduled for next year on the big screen. A work with an innovative concept: “The child Marcel goes back in time to meet the adult Pagnol, who became a renowned filmmaker and one of the major literary figures of the 20th century.”

Annecy Festival – Marcel and Monsieur Pagnol: “Pagnol's life is a history of cinema”

The director gives us his vision of Marcel Pagnol and his work in a long special report published in the new First Classics (n°28, July-September 2024, with The Blues Brothers on the cover). The full article, which focuses in particular on the creation of his famous “Marseille Trilogy” (Marius, Fanny, Caesar) can be found on newsstands throughout the summer (as well as online by clicking here). Here is an excerpt.

“Marcel Pagnol's films are timeless and beyond borders, a bit like Charlie Chaplin's films, begins Sylvain Chomet. Originally, he hated cinema! He couldn't stand the idea of ​​silent films. So he became a great playwright, and it was when he wrote Marius that he discovered talking films.”

“Without Pagnol, there would have been no Audiard and the New Wave, he also confides in us. He brought something very special to the world of cinema. I think that The Marseille Trilogy has a real connection with authenticity. The Provençal characteristics of his work represent a color. But behind it, the form is universal!”

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