Été 96 (Summer 96)
2023 · 12m · France
Directed by Mathilde Bédouet
Genres: animation, coming-of-age, drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic
On August 15, young Paul and his family have their annual picnic on Callot Island but get trapped by the rising tide. Caught between childhood and adulthood, Paul becomes aware of his individuality during a day that turns from nostalgic to stressful.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
5,000 colored-pencil rotoscope frames for a tide-stranded family picnic — gorgeous, undeniably, but the premise reads like every melancholic European coming-of-age short you've ever seen. Craft above material.
Rotoscope traced in colored pencil at eight frames per second across two years places this in conversation with Linklater's Waking Life and Folman's Waltz with Bashir — a technique that lets memory's softness become a physical material. The tidal trap as coming-of-age metaphor is unobtrusively perfect.
5,000 rotoscoped frames hand-traced in colored pencil at eight frames per second over two years — that's the kind of slow, tactile labor that gives the picnic-on-Callot-Island setup its specific gravity. Twelve minutes earned the hard way.
Reviews
The choice to use coloured pencils – primarily in bright, primary tones – proved vital to the film’s emotional impact. Rotoscoping gave Bédouet the freedom to highlight specific moments and sensations while preserving believability, mirroring memory itself: imperfect, selective, and deeply felt.
The film qualified for Oscar consideration by winning the César Award for Best Animated Short Film, marking Bédouet’s stunning debut with a hand-crafted rotoscope technique that took over two years to complete.
Festivals
- César Awards 2024, Best Animated Short Film
- Atlantic International Film Festival 2023
- DokuFest 2024
- Festival REGARD