Alexandre Dubosc, the Chef of “Alimation”!

When we received his profile, we immediately wanted to see Alexandre Dubosc’s unconventional shorts, unique in the world of animation. Some notes from a culinary encounter.

1/ How does one come to imagine films where the main roles are played by chocolate, alphabet pasta or candy?

Actually, it all happened naturally, as a result of my photography work: I spent some time developing my vision working on separate images. Then, I wanted to make them move, to animate my little edible “actors,” the same ones I had been observing motionless for quite some time. The intimacy between people and food interests me from a cinematic perspective just as much as it does from a photographic one. In the film, I explore some subjects of a symbolically intimate nature, such as the visceral seduction inherent in the desire to eat. My humor is also a sort of mockery, an amused look at the inhabitants of our “fridge” that we thought we knew.

The initial inspiration for this exploration came to me from the cinematic “shock” I experienced watching the short Dimensions of Dialogue, by Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer. The sight of the animated food combined with metal tools really captivated me, showing me how much emotion could be evoked by food outside of its usual context of consumption.

2/ How much time does it take to make this type of film ?

It doesn’t take very long. For example, my latest films, Alimation and Food about You, took a relatively short time for an animated short: about a month altogether, including writing, production, shooting, editing and sound-editing. But this type of project implies making very short films, and I’d like to be able to “let myself go,” make something much bigger, experiment with more audacious animation…but for that, I would need a bigger budget, some financing or grants to support my future creations.

3/ What are your plans for the future?

I have a lot of different projects on my plate: my photographs, films and the objects that came out of my food-themed shorts will soon be showcased in exhibits like last year’s “To See and to Eat” held in a five-star Paris hotel.

Also, the advertising industry has been flirting with me – I think it will provide me with the opportunity for more creative experiments…which electrifies me already…☺