Romain Renard and Fursy Teyssier • Directors of Melvile
“The Eurimages Award has created some buzz around our project, and it is a real boost for us and our producers”
- Cineuropa chatted to the two helmers, who scooped the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award at Cartoon Movie with their animated feature project about “lost love and guilt”
On the last day of this year’s Cartoon Movie (8-10 March), the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award – consisting of a cash prize of €20,000 – went to Melvile, a feature-length animated project co-directed by Romain Renard and Fursy Teyssier, and produced by Belgium’s Need Productions, along with French outfits Creative Touch Studios and Special Touch Studios (see the news). We seized the opportunity to chat with the directorial duo, who spoke about the film and its main themes, as well as the next steps on the road to bringing their effort to life.
Cineuropa: What is Melvile about? How would you describe your project and its main themes?
Romain Renard: Melvile is a small, imaginary world. The script intertwines two timelines, the present time and our hero’s memories of his last summer in Melvile. Back then, as a teenager, he lost his best friend and his first love in a fire. When he comes back after 20 years away and gets stuck there for various reasons, he is forced to face the past that he looked away from in guilt. He will also discover the truth about the death of his girlfriend, finding out the real reasons behind it. The movie is about lost love and guilt. It’s about the need to deal with your past in order to reinvent yourself. It’s a movie for adults and young adults, using the codes of the psychological thriller.
How are you planning to use the Eurimages prize?
Fursy Teyssier: We will definitely make good use of it with the storyboard, first! In live action, it is a luxury; in animation, it is the cornerstone. The storyboard is the reference for everyone working on the film, as all of the intents are there. The editing and storytelling of the movie are based on that step. And we are so eager to get started!
How would you evaluate, overall, your participation in Cartoon Movie?
RR: We’ve been working with a very small team for months, and this was the first time we made our work on Melvile public, so there was a lot of excitement about screening our pilot. The award created some buzz around our project, and it is a real boost for us and our producers. Our pitch gathered the biggest audience at this year’s Cartoon Movie, which is wonderful.
Could you please talk us through the visual concept of the project?
FT: We wanted to maintain the graphic singularity of the comic book. Romain draws very realistic and powerful pictures with charcoal, and colours them digitally. The challenge was to find a pipeline that would be faithful to the book – to its atmosphere – and even to sublimate it, while keeping it feasible within the constraints of the film industry… So we have developed our own method. We call it “charcoalisation”, and it allows us to mix drawing, pictures and video, leading to visually powerful environments and expanding the opportunities offered by 2D animation. Melvile, our film, is a story, but it is also a visual premise.
What is the next step for you now?
RR: Our goal is to finish the development, to have a good production script and character design, an animatic, an exciting cast, and then start production. We’re so looking forward to building the team that will join us.
Do you have any idea about when the project might be ready for release?
FT: This question is always a bit scary for directors... If you take into account the end of development, financing and making the movie, [it will be ready] at best in 2026, but our producers would say at best 2027!
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