World Cinemas: Spotlight on “ La Vie, en gros”

A mix of stop motion and 2D animation, La Vie, en gros , by Czech filmmaker Kristina Dufková is adapted from the autobiographical novel by Mikaël Ollivier. The film, which addresses issues such as bullying and self-acceptance, was produced between Slovakia, the Czech Republic and France. Marc Faye, creator of the production company Novanima, takes us behind the scenes of this award-winning project at Annecy 2024 (Contrechamp Jury Prize).

How did the film come to you?

Marc Faye: I heard about it in 2020. Every year, we go to the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. It’s an opportunity to present our films but also to identify other projects. Clermont is a place that is conducive to this work of detection and collaboration with structures that resemble us. That is to say, structures on a human scale, accessible, supported by independent delegated productions and European initiatives. During the festival, we met the co-producer Agata Novinski, who already supported Kristina Dufková’s project. She introduced us to Matčj Chlupáček, the Czech co-producer. They knew our editorial line and appreciated the visual ambition of our films. The project spoke to me straight away because it resonates with what we like at Novanima, in particular films told in the first person or adapted from autobiographies. As La Vie, en gros is based on the book by French author Mikaël Ollivier, Agata and Matěj were therefore looking for a French co-producer.

This project brought together several essential elements: a meeting with a talented director, committed co-producers, and a quality literary work.

Why specifically French?

Because the book is French and because they were looking for a studio capable of producing the 2D animation. Sometimes, the planets align. The understanding was perfect and everyone played their part. We also sent teams specialized in stop motion for the production in Prague, and a collaboration between Slovakia, the Czech Republic and France was set up to serve the film. Then, we worked on the compositing and VFX to complete the 2D animation work, especially on the special effects of the stop motion parts.

How did the animation work go?

Stop motion started earlier, 2D came later. Kristina likes to edit the film as she goes along, knowing that it is not at all the same production line for stop motion or 2D. In stop motion – and perhaps even more so for puppet animation – the work is very similar to a live-action shoot. Once the set is set up and the puppets are in place, you can easily change the camera axis and adapt. This fits perfectly with Kristina’s filming philosophy, who likes to test her intuitions day after day and lock her staging directly on set. It is therefore very different from traditional animation, which relies more on anticipation: first the storyboard, then the animatic. Once this step is validated, we can start the work of layout posing , animation, clean , coloring, then compositing. Each phase is well defined and requires a lot of preparation in advance. Kristina could easily switch from one manufacturing type to another.

What kind of relationship did you have with the director and the other co-producers?

Kristina is very attentive and available. She knows how to accept proposals, while being demanding and knowing what she wants. Matčj Chlupáček, the Czech co-producer, is very talented – I would even say that he is gifted – and Agata Novinski, the Slovak co-producer, even if she is still a novice in the profession, has done a remarkable job. Each at our level, we felt like we were taking part in an adventure, while keeping the freshness of those who are starting out.

This is your first animated feature film as co-producer…

Yes! We have nineteen years of experience with around 80 films to our credit, between short films and documentaries. We have also co-produced mini-series for television, but our core business remains 2D animated short films with visual ambitions. We see ourselves a bit like a laboratory where we can experiment with new techniques. And it turns out that we wanted to try longer formats, but while remaining motivated by our favorites, projects that have a depth of soul and that give meaning to what we do. In this case, , La Vie, en gros addresses strong themes, such as bullying and fatphobia or self-acceptance. Subjects that particularly affect me as a parent. This project brought together several essential elements: a meeting with a talented director, committed co-producers, and a quality literary work. We knew that we were going to devote several years to this film, and it made perfect sense to us.

Kristina likes to test her intuitions day after day and lock her direction directly on set. So it’s very different from traditional animation, which relies more on anticipation.

Did you often visit the Czech Republic during production?

Quite a bit, because we learned to work remotely very quickly, as production started during the Covid-19 period. We held regular meetings via videoconference, and there was total trust between us. As everything went well, we didn’t have to change our operating mode afterwards.

What were the stages of financing the film?

France offers a very favourable framework for financing films. The CNC, which is a bit like our flagship, was invaluable with the Selective Aid for Digital Visual Effects, then the Aid for World Cinemas after production. We were also supported by regional partners, particularly Nouvelle-Aquitaine, who supported us during the development and production phase. These are contacts who are open-minded enough to help authors who are not necessarily from the region, but who have projects supported by French executive producers. We were also helped by Eurimages, the cultural fund of the Council of Europe. And what the jury really liked was that we are young emerging companies supporting a stop motion film. Which is no small feat, because there are ultimately very few of them. I would not like to forget to mention how lucky we are to have trade fairs and professional meetings, such as Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux. A valuable place to discover new projects and through a pitch, very quickly gather a round table for the financing of a film. In this case, we found our international seller and our distributor there.

Before its release, the film had already had a good reception at festivals…

Yes, 4,000 people have already seen it during preview screenings. It is a film that will be kept for a long time. Its exhibition period may be shorter than that of other films, but it could be spread over a longer period of time, particularly through screenings dedicated to young audiences. The themes of La Vie, en gros also make it a social debate: harassment is unfortunately still very present in middle schools, as is fatphobia. I hope that these are all possible relays to use the film as a support for debate and discussions on these subjects.

 La Vie, en gros

Poster for “La Vie, en gros”

La Vie, en gros: Les Films du Préau

Director: Kristina Dufková

Screenplay: Kristina Dufková, Petr Jarchovský

Production France: Novanima

Distribution France: Les Films du Préau

International sales: Gebeka International

Released February 12, 2025

Selective support from the CNC  : Selective aid for digital visual effects , Aid for world cinemas after production