Cousins of clouds
In Asia, in every rural village, elephants are considered to be the cousins of clouds... A one minute film poem painted on Buddha Board and shot with mobile
Different version are available on demand :
French version with English subtitles (downloadable via FilmFreeway)
French version with Italian subtitles
French version with Spanish subtitles
French Version
-
Romain ClarisDirectorDirector
-
Jeffrey McNeelyWriterAuhtor
-
Romain ClarisProducerProducer
-
Project Title (Original Language):Les cousins des nuages
-
Project Type:Animation, Experimental, Short, Web / New Media, Other
-
Genres:Poetry, experimental, legend, animation, 1 minute, short, very short, 60 seconds, timelapse, mobile
-
Runtime:1 minute
-
Completion Date:January 2, 2017
-
Production Budget:50 EUR
-
Country of Origin:France
-
Country of Filming:France
-
Language:French
-
Shooting Format:I-phone 5s
-
Aspect Ratio:16/9
-
Film Color:Color
-
First-time Filmmaker:No
-
Student Project:No
-
Berlin Flash Film FestivalBerlin
Germany
November 30, 2018
Best Micro Short Smartphone -
Avalonia FestivalProvidence
United States
April 20, 2018
Best Philosophy in Animation Award -
Avalonia FestivalProvidence
United States
April 20, 2018
North American Premiere
Best Animalia 1 Minute Movie award -
Global India International Film FestivalPune
India
March 24, 2018
Best Experimental Short Film Award -
1 Minuto FestivalBrazil
Brazil
February 10, 2017
Best short film award, Free Theme category, -
Festival of TimeEdmonton
Canada
January 4, 2019
Best Vocal Performance -
Short to the PointBucarest
Romania
April 14, 2018
Finalist -
Toronto Smartphone Film Festival.Toronto
Canada
June 29, 2018
Official selection -
Ospizio Giovani Artisti - VideoArt ExhibitionRome
Italy
June 30, 2019
Selection -
Flick! Experimental Film Festival at UNCG 2018Greensboro
United States
April 26, 2018
Official selection -
60 Second International Film FestivalIslamabad
Pakistan
March 15, 2018
Official Selection -
Athens AnimfestAthens
Greece
March 15, 2018
Official Selection -
Aab International Film Festival.Mogo, Punjab
India
April 22, 2018
Official selection -
Lake View International Film FestivalPunjab
March 12, 2018
Official Selection -
Video Art Event - InterfaceOradea
Romania
May 19, 2018
Finalist -
Mister VorkyRuma
Serbia
June 1, 2018
Official Selection -
Strano Film FestivalCapestrano
Italy
August 23, 2018
Official Selection -
Art All Night - TrentonTrenton
United States
June 16, 2018
Official Selection -
International Ecological Film Festival TO SAVE AND PRESERVEUgra
Russian Federation
June 4, 2018
Official selection -
New York Mobile FestivalNew York
United States
July 12, 2018
Official Selection -
Strasburg Film FestivalStrasburg
United States
November 9, 2018
Official Slection -
Leicester International Short Film FestivalLeicester
United Kingdom
August 20, 2018
Official selection -
Marmaris International Short Film FestivalMarmaris
Turkey
October 8, 2018
Official selection -
Muestra Movimiento AudiovisualGuadalajara
Mexico
September 17, 2018
Official selection -
FIFAK Film FestivalKlibia
Tunisia
August 12, 2018
African Premiere
Official selection -
Norwich Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
November 7, 2018
Official Selection -
Västerås FilmfestivalVästerås
Sweden
October 5, 2018
Official Selection -
BIDEODROMO Internacional Experimental Film and Video FestivalBilbao
Spain
September 24, 2018
Official selection -
Rabbit Heart Poetry Film FestivalWorcester
United States
October 20, 2018
Official selection -
Chania Cartoon & Animation FestivalChania
Greece
September 17, 2018
Official selection -
International Exhibition of Super Short FilmsNorth Easton
United States
October 27, 2018
Official selection -
China International Green Film WeekBeijing
China
October 10, 2018
Official selection -
IOFF - Independent Online Film Festival
October 7, 2018
Official selection -
Super 9 Mobile Film FestPorto
Portugal
December 1, 2018
Official selection -
Lobo Film FestivalBrasilia
Brazil
November 27, 2018
Official selection -
Istanbul International Experimental Film FestivalIsanbul
Turkey
November 23, 2018
Official selection -
Mobile International Film FestivalSkopje
Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of
November 16, 2018
Official selection -
Last Frame Smartphone FestLondon
United Kingdom
November 23, 2018
Official Selection -
Anilogue International Animation FestivalBudapest
Hungary
November 28, 2018
Official selection -
African Smartphone International Film FestivalLagos
Nigeria
December 14, 2018
Official selection -
Dumbo Film FestivalNew York
United States
December 3, 2018
Official selection -
Experimental Edge Film Festival SeasonTallahassee
United States
December 6, 2018
Official selection -
Festival du Film Minute de LilleLille
France
December 8, 2018
Sélection officielle -
Inshort Film Festival 2018Lagos
Nigeria
Official Selection -
Roma Cinema DOC Roma Cinema DOCRome
Italy
February 9, 2019
Official selection -
Big D Mobile Phone FestDallas
United States
February 7, 2019
Official selection -
Pigrecozen International Film FestivalAncona
Italy
April 19, 2019
Official selection
Distribution Information
-
Romain ClarisCountry: France
Romain Claris has been creating short films since 2000, which have been selected and awarded at more than a hundred international film festivals.
A graduate of the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français in Paris in 2005, he went on to establish the video department at the advertising and communication agency Claris Image Builder, being responsible for the production and direction of 500 films.
In 2020, he co-founded and became the director of the Bordeaux Shorts Biennale. The third edition of the Bordeaux Shorts Biennale is scheduled for October 2024.
He collaborates with photographer Nicolas Claris on several exhibitions of photographs and videos, including Bangladesh in 2013, Rouge in 2017, Noirs in 2018, Un peu de rouge, pourtant in 2020, and On the rocks in 2023.
Romain Claris has been involved in various cinema educational projects, including sessions at the Lycée de Pauillac in 2013, and at the Lycée Victor Louis de Talence in 2019 and 2022.
Currently in preparation for 2026 is the creative documentary Les comptes de la lune, offering an alternative history of the invention of numbers and calculation.
I was told the short story "Cousins of clouds" by my grand-parents a few years ago and find out who wrote it as I thought it would be wonderful to make an adaptation for a very short film. As Jeffrey McNeely the author of the text gave me his authorization, saying that he agreed "with everything that could help the Elephant causes", this answer did enhance my motivation.
But it took two years to achieve and find the best technical support, starting with filming real clouds. But I wasn't happy with the result. Then it appeared that a 2D drawing animation would give a more powerful poetic way to convey this legend. I remembered my mother drew a while ago a book called "Orsettino nel paese degli Ippopotami". I asked her if she would be interested by doing the drawings, but at that time she was too busy and the project implied too much work for her to design hundreds and hundreds of drawings…
Later I was offered a "Buddha Board" a water painting system which makes your painting evaporating within a few minutes. It quickly appeared to be the best technical support to paint the story, each sequence being fading or appearing in post-production. The fading painting matched with the story itself but also with the fact that, without being explicit, elephants are in danger, disapearing from the Planet. I asked again my mother if she was interested with this ’’new solution’’ asking fewer time than traditional drawings and if she could make some trials. We have done these in Spain during summertime and the heat didn't allowed her to draw as she wished with very thin lines, the painting was already fading before the sequence was ending…
A few month later, just before Christmas, I read about a final deadline for a ‘’Mobile One Minute Film Festival’’. So I decided to take the plunge, painting again and again for a week while my cell phone was recording. Then it took me another week in post-production, to record the voice over and edit the film. I had to accelerate the speed of each sequence and invert them except for the last one.
One Minute Film was the right way to make ’’A long story short’’…