Michel Ocelot

• A born storyteller and artist, Michel Ocelot grew up under the sun and long shadows of the Côte d’Azur, and then the Republic of Guinea. Despite studies at the Beaux-Arts d’Angers and the École des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, he is self-taught when it comes to animation. After a televised commission (Gédéon, 1976), the animator perfected his first masterpiece: The Three Inventors (1979), a fairy tale in white lace, made on a shoestring budget. This was the era of little gems, created in 2D with whatever was to hand, such as the shadow theatre of Princes and Princesses (1989–2000). In 1998, his first feature film, the dark and colourful tale of Kirikou and the Witch, wowed audiences with its elegant design, powerful story, and the infectious energy of its little hero, who continued his adventures in 2005 and 2012. The world of Michel Ocelot radiates cultural and technical beauty: from the wondrous medieval Maghreb of Azur and Azmar (2006), reconstituted in computer-generated images; to the attractions of Dilili in Paris (2018), combining drawing and photography, for which he won the César for best animated film.

• • Shorts :  Les 3 inventeurs (1979) – La Légende du Pauvre Bossu (1982) – Les 4 Vœux (1987) – La Belle Fille et le Sorcier (1992) – Bergère qui danse (1992) – Le Prince des Joyaux (1992) – Pablo-Paris-Satie (2020)
  • Feature Movies : Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998) – Princes and Princesses (2000) – Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) – Azur & Asmar (2006) – Tales of the Night (2011) – Kirikou and the Men and the Women (2012) –Ivan Tsarévitch and the Changing Princess (2016) – Dilili in Paris (2018) – The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022)
  • Series : Gédéon (1976) – La Princesse Insensible (1984) – Ciné Si (1989) – Dragons and Princesses (2010)
  • Musical Clip : Earth Intruders de Björk