I LOST MY BODY – The American French Film Festival in Los Angeles

I LOST MY BODY (J’AI PERDU MON CORPS)

Wednesday September 25 – 8:15 pm – Truffaut Theatre
Presented by Writer-Director JEREMY CLAPIN
(+ Short Film Presentation: ONE AFTER THE OTHER)
(Screening ends at 9:50 pm)

Directed by: Jérémy Clapin
Written by: Jérémy Clapin, Guillaume Laurant
Based on the Book by: Guillaume Laurant
Film Editing: Benjamin Massoubre
Original Score: Dan Levy
Produced by: Marc de Pontavis, Xavier de Maistres (Xilam Animation), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
Cast: Hakim Faris (Naoufel), Victoire du Bois (Gabrielle), Patrick d’Assumçao (Georges)
International Sales: Charades
U.S. distributor: Netflix

At times spooky, almost gory; at others, poetic and supremely nostalgic, Jérémy Clapin’s inventive debut animated feature was a runaway hit at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it both thrilled audiences and nabbed the Critic’s Week Grand Prize. Employing a clever mix of romance and horror genres, the film follows a disembodied hand through Paris, in search of its irretrievable body. Constructed like a mystery or offbeat detective story, Clapin’s quirky, intricately woven narrative offers a series of recurring tactile impressions and sense memories — sand sifting through fingers, buzzing flies, fingers dancing across a piano keyboard, a microphone recording the sound of the wind whistling through the trees, and theories about what it takes to thwart destiny. This flurry of seemingly disconnected impressions ingeniously comes together to express grief, loss, and one young man’s profound longing to become whole again.

Co-writer/director Jérémy Clapin began his career as a graphic designer, eventually moving into the advertising business. He’s directed four animated shorts. Skhizein (2008), won Jury Prizes at the L.A., Krakow and Hiroshima Film Festivals; an SACD Award at Clermont-Ferrand; a Silver Hugo in Chicago; a Gold Trophy for Best Animated Film at the Algarve Festival in Portugal; the Discovery Award in Cannes; and was nominated for a César Award for Best Short Film. His other shorts include, Une histoire vertébrale (2004), Palmipédarium (2012), and Hundred Waters: Innocent (2015). Clapin and Amelie screenwriter Guillaume Laurant co-wrote the script for I Lost my Body, which was adapted from Laurant’s 2006 novel, Happy Hand. After winning the Critic’s Week Grand Prize at Cannes, the film took both the Cristal Award for Best Feature and the Audience Award at the 2019 Annecy Animation Festival.

Presented in association with:

Netflix

Charades

Animation is Film