Sitges Pitchbox interview: Victor Jaquier, Matilda Corkscrew’s director
Sitges Pitchbox interview: Victor Jaquier, Matilda Corkscrew’s director
Matilda Corkscrew was one of the selected projects of Sitges Pitchbox 2017. The jury gave him the BIFAN award, so he’s just come back from Bucheon International Film Festival, in Korea, where he presented the project and got Mocha Chai award, which provides post production services.
We want to know you better. Why did you choose this job? Where did you study? Where did you start your career?
I was 6 years old when I made my first stop-motion animation with clay characters, I always wanted to be a director. I have been a student in the Geneva school of Fine Arts, in the cinema section, but I have not finished my studies there. I was too impatient to work on film sets and I have been assistant location manager and assistant director. I started in Switzerland and then I moved to Paris, where I’ve been living for eleven years.
Tell us about your work. What have you done? Could we watch some of your more important works?
Back in the DVmovies era, I have made two shorts films using stop-motion animation: the Silver Key and Cronos & Rhea. Then I was hired by Canal+ to co-direct a short film with Hugo Veludo for an anthology called ‘Sable Noir’, I directed an episode called In Memoriam. I also directed commercials and music videos, but my last important work is my live action short ‘The Black Lake’.
Let’s talk about ‘Matilda Corkscrew’. How it all began? What is it about?
‘Matilda Corkscrew’ began with the desire to write an original story that would have the vibe of an old fairy tale, and that would be a stop-motion animation. At that time I was reading about psychoanalysis in fairy tales and ideas have been unfolding while I was into this subject. I started with this image of a young girl with a physical flaw — a nose shaped like a corkscrew — who gets in trouble when she tries to correct it. She encounters people that have a magical solution to correct her flaw, but it is too good to be true. She discovers that this magic is a dark magic, that destroys human lives. I think that the roots of this story lies in my concerns about the current humanity destroying our planet to mass produce shallow products that are supposed to make us happier, but takes us away from who we really are. But in my story, I translated it into the initiatory journey of this young girl, Matilda, into a forbidden forest. She encounters a young Prince in a castle full of strange magical mushrooms, that can grant her wish for a normal nose.
How long have you been working on this project?
I started this project in 2012. In the beginning it was a short film project, that is not completed yet. I am still trying to shoot the short version of the story to use it as a proof of concept. But even the short version is difficult to finance, so it takes a lot of time. Meanwhile, I have been developing other projects, like a 15 minutes traditional drawing animation that will be in production at the end of 2018.
After Sitges Pitchbox, how is everything going? How did the event help you? What do you need to develop ‘Matilda Corkscrew’ right now?
Stop-motion animation projects are expensive and it takes time to shape a project like that. The event helped me to gain visibility. A selection in a pitching event is very helpful to legitimate a project and to span the attention of producers. When you are a director developing a project, it is also very precious to be able to go to events to pitch your project, to meet people and to learn a lot of things about development and production. What I need now is the short version of ‘Matilda Corkscrew’, because a proof of concept is crucial for an expensive project like this one.
What is the best value of ‘Matilda Corkscrew’?
It is a stop-motion animation project, and this technique has a real power of fascination because it remains unusual. It’s also an original story and a visual universe that is a continuation of a style I have been developing since years through my own work.
Elijah Wood is involved in the project. How did you contact him? What did he tell you about ‘Matilda Corkscrew’?
I contacted Elijah Wood the regular way, my agent sent the script and the concept arts to his agent, and he accepted. He was approached when we were working on the short version and he was very enthusiastic about the project. He loves dark fairy tales and stop-motion animation, he is very curious about visiting the set when we will shoot it. He also loves his character because he plays a villain that sneakily hides his true intentions, so it is a great fun for him to play vocally with.
You are back from BIFAN after pitching the project there thanks to the award you got last year in Sitges Pitchbox. What can you tell us about your experience in Korea?
It was fantastic. I love Korean cinema and it was wonderful to be in Seoul/Bucheon for the first time. The festival crew is great and the business meetings are very efficient. I have learned a lot of things about co-production with Korea and China. It’s great to be able to meet people over there and be in touch. And I had the honor to win the Mocha Chai Award, that will provides post-production services for the project.
Why did you apply to Sitges Pitchbox?
With my co-writer Maximilian Von Vier, we had just finished the second version of the script, and it was the perfect timing to apply, and to see if we had done a good job with this story. The Sitges festival is also the place you want to attend when you have a project like this, because it’s the place where you can meet a lot of people from the fantastic cinema industry. People here are professionals but also because they have a passion for this genre.
What could you tell about your experience in Filmarket Hub and Sitges Pitchbox?
It was very helpful because me and my co-writer have been learning a lot. First we had two rehearsal on skype with the pitchbox crew, we were able to learn how to pitch this story effectively. Then before the live pitching event, we had a last rehearsal. We also had a coaching session with Mike Hostench from the festival, who told us the dos and don’ts of pitching and presentation documents. It was fantastic to learn all those things.
How was the experience during the event and the networking?
The event was great because it was so well prepared. We were also able to connect with the people from the other selected projects. It is very precious to meet people who are facing the same challenges. The networking was well organized. We also had the presence of Guillermo Del Toro, he gave us a very inspiring speech.
Would you repeat the Pitchbox experience?
I would definitely repeat the Pitchbox experience, when the time will come with another project.
Do you think this kind of events are useful to you?
Like I said, it is very precious to span attention on a project. There are so many projects in development out there, if you have a selection in a project like Pitchbox it sends a good signal. The Pitchbox team is very involved about helping the filmmakers to achieve the best pitch for their project. I have acquired new knowledge about the art of pitching, and that is so precious.
Any advice to future participating projects?
Write a solid treatment, have good concept arts and make the most efficient 2 minutes presentation video. And rehearse your pitch a lot in front of other people. If you’re new to the subject of pitching, watch as many tutorials as you can find on YouTube.
Quick Questionnaire
Tell us your 3 favorite screenwriters: Charlie Kaufman, Gérard Brach, and Hideaki Anno, because the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion is mindblowing.
3 favorite screenwriting books: some are not precisely about stories for the screen but i would say: The Screenwriter’s Bible (David Trottier) On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King) The Uses of Enchantment (Bruno Bettelheim)
3 favorite directors: this list is changing all the time but today I would say: Roman Polanski, David Cronenberg, and Bong Joon Ho because he made Okja, it is so important to talk about cruelty to animals through movies.
3 favorite films: This also changes all the time, today here it is: The City of Lost Children (Caro & Jeunet), Alien (Ridley Scott), The End of Evangelion (Hideaki Anno).
