Jun 14, 2023

Check out the strange and wonderful world of Annecy Contrechamp player "Adam Change Lentement" (exclusive trailer).

A decade after the short film "le courant faible e la rivière" screened at the competition at Annecy, Canadian director Joël Vaudreuil returned with his debut film "Adam Change Letement."

Produced by David Pierrat and Olivier Picard of Parce Que Films, the film is a wild and bizarre suburban journey with a dark sense of humor and a laggy sweetness as a viewer.

The film follows Adam, a 15-year-old teenager who has a special quirk - his body anti-to ridicule and the negative comments he receives from those around him, his accumulation of physical changes only adds an extra layer of complexity to what already exists in his life.

We recently talked to Vaudreuil, who told us about the small-town influence of cinema and the challenges he faced in moving from short films to feature films.

What were some of the visual influences that influenced you while developing the look of the film-

The small town where I grew up was the main influence for the background. Together with the artist who painted the background, we worked hard to find the right amount of detail to make it a bit minimalist. We have set a limited palette of colors, so every house looks the same. It was important to me that the story takes place in a slightly modest town. I used a printed cartoon for more reference than an animated background. I wanted a dry, sober look. I kept the first sketch as the main reference for the characters, but they are still pretty close. Most of the extras are drawn from photos my friends have given me since I was 10.

How did you determine what the physical manifestation of Adam's change would look like-

It's a decision that appeared naturally while I was writing the script. The words of the characters "determined" what would change in Adam's body. Specifically, the average comment they say. I wanted them to be "normal", as if the characters didn't even notice that they would say anything meaningful.

After a long and successful career, like making short films and videos, what required most adaptation to make a feature film was writing.

For me, the big challenge (but a lot of fun) in moving from short to feature was. I find it really interesting to develop characters, even if they are in supporting roles. I love it. I chose to let someone else do the background as well. In my short film, I did my own background, but my style was really too minimalist and I needed something firmer in keeping the viewer's interest in the feature film. I developed a background style with two visual artists. The main design was created by Isabel Gimond, after which carolyne Scenna (who also designed accessories) completed the work in the same artistic direction, adding a subtle finish to the character's environment. But the biggest challenge is still to keep pace for longer films.

How did your work with short films and videos help you when it came to making a 90-minute movie-

The short I made with my chef animator, Nicholas Musset, using the software we had. We developed a mixing technique to adjust what we did not like in the appearance of the film.