In-Conversation with Michel Ocelot

Michel Ocelot is a legend of the animation world. Born in the French Riviera, he spent his childhood between Guinea and the Loire Valley before settling in Paris, where he studied. He did military service in the Army Cinema, where he made animated films that could not be shown because of military secrecy. He began making short animated films in the 1970s. All of his works have been based on his own scripts and drawings. Among his short films, he directed The 3 Inventors (1980 Bafta for the best-animated film, London), followed by The Legend of the Poor Hunchback (1983 César for the best animated short film, Paris). In 1998, Michel Ocelot became known to the general public with the success of his first feature film Kirikou and the Sorceress. He then released Princes and Princesses, fairy tales in a shadow theater using cut-out animation, and Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, co-directed with Bénédicte Galup. Azur & Asmar (2007), his 4th feature film, is another fairy tale set on both sides of the Mediterranean: it was selected for the Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight. He has gone on to even greater successes,Dilili in Paris, set in the Belle Epoque, won the 2019 Cesar award. His latest film Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess, is playing at the Red Sea IFF.