“Marcel & Mister Pagnol” when the world of Sylvain Chomet meets that of Marcel Pagnol

The above teaser does not represent the final quality of the animation nor the characters as they will appear on screen. It was created solely for professional purposes and is presented here as a bonus.

A poetic biopic

In 1955, when the magazine “Elle” commissions a series of articles about his childhood, Marcel Pagnol sees it as an opportunity to return to his beginnings: writing. However, Pagnol, already a recognized filmmaker and playwright, begins to doubt himself due to some memory lapses and the lukewarm success of his recent theater plays. It is then that a magical vision of himself as a child appears to him. This vision helps him to remember and explore his past.

“Marcel and Mister Pagnol,” a new animation project, is described as “deliciously vintage, burlesque, poetic, and inventive.” This succinctly captures the essence of the story it aims to tell.

Sylvain Chomet: an inspired Director

The creator of “The Triplets of Belleville,” “The Illusionist,” and the Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-nominated, and César Award-winning short “The Old Lady and the Pigeons” for Best Animated Film (“The Illusionist”), Sylvain Chomet, returns to animation after a foray into live-action filmmaking. With this return, he revisits the life of an artist who, in his time, brought renown to and shared the essence of Provence and Marseille with the world.

Sylvain Chomet has discovered an original narrative approach for this story by creating a meeting between the author, producer, and director and his childlike double. This encounter is used to narrate the destiny of Marcel Pagnol and his journey through the 20th century, a time marked by major historical upheavals and the extraordinary evolution of the film industry.

“I have always been very admiring of Marcel Pagnol’s work, so I was immediately captivated by the idea of writing and directing a biopic. Originally, I had imagined a film with archival footage and some animation. In the end, it will be an animated film. For me, Marcel Pagnol was synonymous with childhood; like everyone else, I had read ‘My Father’s Glory.’ In seeking to make a documentary, I actually discovered another person: a genius who aspires to succeed in the fields accessible to him, centered around writing. He arrives in Paris penniless as an English teacher and meets people from the theater world. From struggle to struggle, he writes ‘Topaze’ and ‘Marius,’ which launch his career. Then comes the war and the Germans in France, followed by the post-war period. I couldn’t imagine Pagnol without including in the image the young Marcel, and animation allows for kinds of mise-en-abîme where his child alter ego appears to remind him of his memories. The film will transcribe his universe and trajectory. The young child takes him back to the past to relive everything he experienced, where he came from in Provence, then Paris, and his life as an adult and artist.”

A project of unprecedented scale

Distributed by Sony Classic in more than 60 countries to date, the film is produced by What The Prod (Ashargin Poiré and Valérie Puech), Aton Soumache (On Entertainment/Mediawan) and Lilian Eche (Bidibul).

Initiated by Nicolas Pagnol and Ashargin Poiré, the original project was to produce a major documentary on the life of Marcel Pagnol. Very quickly, the desire to immerse the viewer in a poetic universe made animation obvious. The meeting with Sylvain Chomet then triggered the start of the adventure of “Marcel & Monsieur Pagnol” with the support of Aton Soumache and Lilian Eche.

The first animated cinematic biopic, the first biopic dedicated to Marcel Pagnol, this film will surprise spectators by presenting an unexpected Pagnol, far from the typical image we may have of him.

A highly anticipated theatrical release

The presentation of “Marcel & Monsieur Pagnol” could take place at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival when we will celebrate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Marcel Pagnol as well as the 70th anniversary of the presentation of the first Palme d’Or, awarded by Marcel Pagnol to Delbert Mann for his film “Marty”.

The sale of the film in more than 60 countries still confirms today the impact that the work of Marcel Pagnol but also that of Sylvain Chomet could have had.

A word from the producers

Aton Soumache

“Pagnol is one of the great legends of the 20th century in literature, theater and cinema in France and around the world. Nothing has ever been produced about his life, but he has an extraordinary career. Adapting to cinema the story of the major work of an author like Marcel Pagnol through the fair and tender vision of a master of animation like Sylvain Chomet is a terribly exciting challenge. Our know-how will allow us to carrying across borders this timeless and sunny hymn to cinema, to life and to childhood, it will be a great biopic, like an Aviator or a Hugo Cabret, a historical fresco where we will live an adventure through an extraordinary character. “common. This is a unique proposal for a family-oriented film, a major animated show, to create an event.”

Ashargin Poiré

“We spoke to Sylvain and realized that he was his favorite author. However, we only wanted to work on this project with people who had a crush, a passion. Because Pagnol touches the human and to the authentic. Sylvain, like Aton later, were touched. Pagnol is also an adventure, an extraordinary life. He is very inspiring, he has always remained independent, and has inspired many artists of the New wave and Italian neorealism, then filmmakers like Orson Welles, who considered Raimu the best actor in the world, or even Steven Spielberg later. But above all, it is a story of humans, of men and women , from the 1920s to the 1950s. The film will give a new look at his career, which spanned the 20th century and its technological developments. He was a pioneer who also set up his own studio. We will meet great figures like Raimu and Fernandel and others”