A conversation between the director and National Film Board of Canada producer takes us inside their collaboration on the award-winning NFB/Folimage animated short that examines bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent through the imaginative eyes of a child.
Director Janice Nadeau and National Film Board of Canada producer Marc Bertrand take us inside their collaboration on the award-winning NFB/Folimage animated short HARVEY.
Bertrand has been a producer at the NFB’s French Animation Studio since 1998 and has over 130 titles to his credit, including Patrick Doyon’s Sunday (2011) and Theodore Ushev’s Blind Vaysha (2016), both Oscar® nominees.
Invited to more than 75 festivals to date, Nadeau’s HARVEY is a poetic, luminous look at bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent, as told through the eyes of a child. Most recently, HARVEY received the Best Character-Based – Silver Award at the Los Angeles Animation Festival.
MARC BERTRAND, NFB Producer
This is your third collaboration with filmmaker Janice Nadeau. How did the two of you come to work together?
I first encountered Janice Nadeau through her powerful graphic novel No Fish Where to Go (Nul poisson où aller, 2014), which was a fixture in my office at the NFB for a decade. I was hesitant to produce it at first because of the weight of its war-themed story, but I later embraced the challenge. The novel explores a young girl’s struggle with the universal question of whether someone we love can become an enemy. Janice’s illustrations, true masterpieces, added depth to the compelling text.
We started production on the animated version of the novel with Nicola Lemay, an experienced director, and Janice in the role of artistic director. But Janice was so involved that I asked Nicola if he would agree to share directing responsibilities and credit. The film won accolades and solidified Janice’s position as an important animation director. Inspired by her grandmother, Janice proposed a short film called Mamie, leading to a collaboration with Corinne Destombes at Folimage. That project received acclaim, earning prestigious awards and showcasing Janice’s storytelling prowess.
What in particular about this story resonated with you or moved you enough to want to make the film?
Janice’s Harvey, initially an illustrated book, captivated me instantly. Unlike my previous hesitations, I dove into this project quickly. Hervé Bouchard’s story, which explores profound loss, resonated deeply as I reflected on my own father’s passing. The small-town setting, the concept of the dual springs, and Harvey’s use of imagination to cope felt personally relevant. Janice’s illustrations, along with all these elements, convinced me that the story had universal appeal. Harvey’s journey, finding solace through imagination amid grief, struck a personal chord. It mirrored my own potential for healing. Witnessing Harvey navigate sorrow, I believed others could find solace, too. The project became more than a story; it became a reflection of resilience and a source of shared healing experiences.
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing independent animation today? What is its greatest success?
Discoverability poses a significant challenge for independent animation, despite far-reaching Internet platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. While these platforms showcase impressive content, finding hidden gems is still daunting. Many creators aim for big-screen experiences, but festivals have limited screening slots and can only show a fraction of their submissions. Despite some cause for optimism that animation may be growing, networks and broadcasters must present more films to the public, emphasizing that animation is more than just entertainment for children. Distributors should recognize that animation comes in diverse formats, beyond just feature length, and help both short and long animated films reach global audiences. This expansion is vital in order to foster a broader appreciation of animation and ensure exceptional works find the audience they deserve.
JANICE NADEAU, Filmmaker
What was it like shifting from illustration to animation?
For the film HARVEY, yes, I had to shift from illustration to animation because it was originally a graphic novel written by Hervé Bouchard. There were choices to be made in adapting the book for the screen, as with any adaptation. In terms of storytelling, the most crucial decision I made was to add an epilogue. The ending of the book was quite tragic: Harvey disappears when he realizes that his dad can’t see him anymore. In the film, Harvey flees into his imagination instead, and that sets up an epic conclusion! In terms of form, the challenge was to break up the elastic time of the book into units, into shots, for the film. I wanted the audience to feel the adrenaline of the race and the excitement of spring, but also the sense of time stopping when Harvey’s world is turned upside down.
Your films were created using a traditional animation technique. How can 2D animation still be relevant in storytelling today?
To my mind, traditional 2D animation gives you a tactile sensitivity that you just can’t get otherwise. In my films, I want to use all means of expression to get my ideas and emotions across, and drawing is an extension of my thinking. Through my gestures and by applying pressure on the pencil, I can directly transcribe my ideas onto paper. That way, my final animation retains some imperfections, which I can see on the screen. With HARVEY, I was aiming both for an aesthetic that conveyed the characteristic grittiness of spring, with the snow slowly melting, all these little pebbles and grime, and a texture that rendered the light of springtime.
What’s your favorite sequence from HARVEY?
Marc Bertrand:
Choosing a favorite sequence is never easy, but if I must choose, I’d have to admit that the toothpick-race scenes hold a special place in my heart. I fondly recall the days of crafting makeshift boats from scrap two-by-fours from my father’s lumber yard, and holding races in the big puddles created by melting snow in the spring. I’m sure these races still go on in small towns, where spring brings that beautiful sun, which melts the accumulated snow in just a few days every year.
Janice Nadeau:
The toothpick regatta! It happens in the street, along a little stream in the gutter: the kids have a real race, with real boats (made of toothpicks). There are obstacles, dangerous maneuvers, icebergs—you really feel like you’re there! Of course, I can’t name just one scene, so I’ll also mention the “pink scene,” where the dad’s head morphs into a faucet head, a macaroni head, a fish head—basically, anything that came into my head! Our composer Martin Léon, sound designer Olivier Calvert and voice artist Ryan Hill really gave it their all for that sequence!
What was the NFB and Folimage co-production experience like?
Marc Bertrand:
The French Animation Studio boasts a rich co-production history with Folimage. We collaborated with them for about 20 years on a residency that invited animation auteurs to direct their film with the support of our two production studios. Mamie, Janice’s previous film, was also co-produced by Folimage (Corinne Destombes) and the NFB. As for HARVEY, the development phase was a bit longer than usual, but production was done very efficiently. I believe that Folimage is an exceptional collaborator, and I eagerly look forward to partnering with them again on future projects.
Janice Nadeau:
Production took place during the COVID health crisis, with one team working at Folimage in Valence, France, and another at the NFB in Montreal, Canada. The studio team in Montreal, including Marc Bertrand, Éric Pouliot and Laetitia Séguin, set up an online tool so people could comment on shots right down to the last frame, and Claude Cloutier and I would meet the team up to four times a week, online, to follow up on the shots. It was a very warm and friendly time: we created a virtual studio to make the film! Now that I think of it, the co-production process was so smooth because I knew Folimage very well, having made my previous film, Mamie, over there—but especially because we mailed them some maple syrup and they sent us nougat and chocolate!
HARVEY was co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada (Marc Bertrand) and Folimage (Reginald de Guillebon), with the support of the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. Head of Development: Corinne Destombes (Folimage).
