As every year, Les Nuits Magiques is above all a competition for animated films from Europe, Asia and North America. And therefore the opportunity to see short films that can not be seen either in theaters or on the Internet, in genres ranging from historical narrative to social debate through fantasy or humor.
Because – the programmer Fabrice de la Rosa is keen on it – this festival is not reserved for children. Only one out of five competitions is stamped “young audience”. To this must be added the opening night, Wednesday November 30, on the theme of gastronomy, and a short program (35 minutes) out of competition, to see from 3 years old, on the theme of winter.
2 For tributes to important directors
The Magical Nights are also an opportunity to focus on important but little-known directors. In this case, Frédéric Back and Satoshi Kon. The first is a Frenchman who made a career in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s and who received dozens of prizes for the delicacy of his pastel work. In particular an Oscar in 1982 for “Crac! “, which will be screened with “The Man Who Planted Trees”, adaptation of a text by Jean Giono, with the voice of Philippe Noiret.
As for Satoshi Kon, he is a cult Japanese cartoonist whose several manga have been adapted into films. Les Nuits Magiques offers the only one distributed in France: “Millenium actress”. Released in 2001, this feature film features a former star actress in search of a young political dissident she had known before the war. A documentary on the life and work of Satoshi Kon is also available.
3 For special sessions
Traditionally, the festival provides a preview of a major end-of-year film. This year, “Puss in Boots 2: The Last Quest”, the latest production from DreamWorks studios (“Shrek”, “Kung fu panda”, etc.), will be screened on Sunday December 4, three days before its official release, then until the end of the festival.
But the other special screenings are also worth looking at: “My Father’s Secrets”, on the relationship of a former Jewish deportee with his children, or “Black is Beltza II. Ainhoa”, on the shift in Basque militancy at the end of the 1980s through the journey of a young woman. These two cartoons are adapted from comics. More family-friendly, we can also see “Lady and the Tramp”, one of Walt-Disney’s great classics (1955) on the big screen on December 11.
4. For animations
This session will be followed by a snack and preceded by a concert by Suzette sings Disney, a guitar-vocal duo that adapts ten songs from the cartoons. Offering entertainment alongside films is also the hallmark of Nuits Magiques. We will also mention, in bulk, a cine-quiz (75 extracts from films whose spectators will have to say the title) on December 2, improvisational theater around screenings of short films on the 3rd, or initiation workshops cartoon on saturday 10.
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