Today in France, a child who has been the victim of incest must prove that he/she did not consent: that he/she clearly said "no." This is the unbearable reality that the charity Face à l'Inceste must fight every day. To that effect, they set up a petition to change the law.
From a child's perspective, the 2-minute film, entirely made in animation, raises the violent question of consent and makes the viewer aware of how much the legal framework can perpetuate the physical and psychological nightmare that children live.
Cultural / Context information for the jury
Face à l'incceste is an association that fights for the victims of incest. Created in 2000, it is led by more than 35 volunteers who are incest survivors, relatives of survivors, professionals and citizens involved in the fight. Founded by Isabelle Aubry, an incest survivor, the association is open to victims of incest and pedocriminality and their relatives, as well as to any citizen of the world who wishes to support the cause we defend.
Tell the jury about type(s) of animation used and summarise any relevant challenges or techniques.
A poignant film carried by a dark graphic universe that raises the violence of the question of consent.
We tried to incorporate that into the character design, especially the father and monsters’ figures, imagining them the way a child would see them. Serious tone juxtaposed with this childlike color palette is really effective, it puts you in the perspective of a child and still takes the subject seriously.
We wanted to have a real painted texture, without asking Jackson to actually paint 3,000 frames. The solution we found was to print the backgrounds, and paint each paper with just one colour, following the pattern, the objects and the directions.
We painted each background three times, which took us two days. The texture now really moves, and brings in real vibrations, a real handed-painted feel. Definitely the best solution given the time we had.