Based on a 1989 interview with French pop poet Serge Gainsbourg, the ‘ballpoint pen style’ film chronicles the famed Parisian’s decades-long career peppered with controversy, affairs, and abusive relationships.
An animated documentary based on a 1989 interview with the French pop poet Serge Gainsbourg, titled Gainsbourg: Rue de Verneuil, is in development with Logical Pictures and its The Jokers Lab documentary label, according to Variety. The famed Parisian’s decades-long career was peppered with controversy, affairs, and abusive relationships, making for what should be a truly riveting story.
Gilles Cayatte directs the project from a script he co-wrote with Daniela de Felice, with Cyril Houplain serving as artistic director.
Producer Carole Mirabello first began work on the film in the late 2000s, when she met with Christian Fevret, the journalist who recorded the 1989 interview two years before the singer’s death. “Fast forward to 2016, and he handed me the entire collection of audio tapes, suggesting they might be the foundation for a film,” said Mirabello. “The conversation was so personal and raw, though, that I struggled to envision how to bring it to life through conventional archival footage.”
The film was then put on hold for many years. “It wasn’t until 2023 that inspiration struck: the story would be best told through animation, capturing the unique encounter between a young journalist and an iconic artist,” she added.
After building the creative team, it was decided by Houplain that the film would be animated in a “unique ballpoint pen style” described as the “ideal vector for transcending and expressing all the complexity and range of emotions that run through this interview and its protagonist.”
Logical’s Frédéric Fiore and The Jokers Lab’s Mirabello produce.
"Gainsbourg: rue de Verneuil", an upcoming animated documentary about the french musician.
Directed by Gilles Cayatte & Daniela De Felice, with Cyril Houplain as art director.
Produced Logical Pictures / The Jokers Lab.https://t.co/nvP6EtG9pF pic.twitter.com/jXPFvJEuKK— Catsuka (@catsuka) October 14, 2024
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
