FilmQuest/Paris International Animation Film Festival 2018 - The Cherry Brothers/Les Frères Cerise
Follow the adventures of two attached cherry brothers who have completely different personalities. Facing a powerful foe, they need to learn to work together.
Interview with Writer/Director Myriam Obin
Watch The Cherry Brothers/Les Frères Cerise here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I wanted to make a fun cartoon for a long time, so when Cartoon Network approached my school to make a short I jumped at the occasion to direct it.
The only rule I had to follow was to start building the story from a kid who was drawing two cherries. For me it was a fun challenge. I presented the project to the creative director at Cartoon Network France, Nicolas Rostan, with a rough storyboard and concept art. Once it got approved I had to find a team and make the production in about one month. It was an exciting challenge to take charge with a lot of creative freedom.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Well, if you want to see a short made by amazing artists from all around the world, this is the film to see! It's also colorful and fun to watch.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I wanted the story to be dynamic so I decided to include a monster to defeat. However, the real battle is between the two brothers and their conflicted feelings toward each other. One is filled with energy and wants to be a hero while the other is more reserved and would like to stay out of trouble. They are a bit tired of being tied up all the time together. You know, even if they have difficulties understanding each other they still care about each other.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Actually the universe filled with a futuristic insect town and an ant-eating monster was the very first idea that came to my mind. For me it was a fun universe to make. However I rewrote the script many times because I couldn’t fit everything in only one minute. In my first draft there was a second character involved in the story named Sharron. She was an ant with immense strength who helped the brothers. I had to cut the story to make it shorter. Now, the brothers come across a town with strangers who need to be saved.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We delivered the project on time. The people in Cartoon Network were very happywithf the result. It was presented in many media. It was well received in France. The most important part was the positive feedback from the kids and parents, many saying they could see this as a concept for a show.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Doing an animated film is like telling a joke and waiting one month to see if it works. So at the end, it's always a relief when people enjoy it!
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on.
As I said, the film was broadcast in France, but now I would like to share the concept outside. As I was making the short, many ideas to develop the cartoon into a T.V show came to mind. I would like to expand the universe I built. This is why I am very happy when a film festival like Rhode Island presents the film or when it is shared on other platforms like this website. It's a wonderful way to reach a greater audience.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
For now “The Cherry Brothers” was made with no money and a very limited time. Now imagine how good it would look if there was a budget involved. I would like to develop the short into a T.V show and for that I would need people interested in the concept. I know it would be great. I am also distributing the film alone, so all the publicity from journalists like on this website are welcome.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I just want people to like the short. I love it when kids want to see more of the Cherry Brothers, what next adventure would they go to.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The real key question would be: do you like cartoons?
Would you like to add anything else?
The cartoon was a side project from school; so working on it was more work for students during the semester. Therefore, I made everyone work on just a small portion of the film... which is already a lot of work since animation is so time consuming. Almost every student who wanted to help out did. At the end there were 35 students all coming from different countries.
To name a few; Jakub (Poland) and Thinus (South Africa) helped me manage the animation and background group. We had great talents in animation like Michelle Ong (Singapore) and Germaine (Italy) who helped by doing extra animation work when needed. Kereel (Russia) and Yujia (China) reworked the rough concept art and made great character design out of it. The film was a lot of teamwork from talented artists.
What other projects are the key creative developing or working on now
As I said, I am developing the concept into a T.V show and I also have other stories to explore.
Interview: August 2018
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The Cherry Brothers / Les Frères Cerise
Follow the adventures of two attached cherry brothers who have completely different personalities. Facing a powerful foe, they need to learn to work together.
Length: 1:24 minute
Who is being interviewed for this article? The director, Myriam Obin
Director: Myriam Obin
Writer: Myriam Obin
About the writer, director and producer:
MYRIAM OBIN is an award wining filmmaker from Quebec who recently received her Master degree from Gobelins, Paris.
Key cast:
Design : Kereel Blumenkrants, Yujia Wang Animators : Jakub Bednarz, Diego Porral, Tena Galović, Michelle Chan, Bruno Cohen, Lesego Vorster, Jong-Ha Yoon, Michelle Ong, Juliana de Lucca, Justin Reid Polley, Germaine Cigana, Camille Broutin Mehu Line & Color : Rohan Deshchougule, Cherry Chen, Marie Susanyan, Emilie Damien,s Selene Chauveau, Mriganka Bhuyan, Louise Laurent, Louise Boucher, Ian Halley, Alexandra Delaunay Fernández, Lucille Rizzo, Raphael Coutant, Claire Sun, Jeanne Laureau Background : Thinus Van Rooyen, Michelle Chan, Yujia Wang, Justin Reid Polley, Olga Serdyukova, Mohammad Babakoohi, Raphael Coutant Montage visuelle : Florencia Atria, Léonard Hicks Sound mix : Cedric Denooz
Looking for: producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Facebook: Myriam Obin
Twitter: @MyriamObin
Other: http://cibelleanimation.com/the-cherry-brothers/
Made in association with: Cartoon Network / Gobelins, l'école de l'image
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Palm Springs Animation International Film Festival (22-25 August) FilmQuest, Utah (9 September at 8PM), Paris International Animation Film Festival (20-24 September) and later this year it will be presented in New York International Film Festival