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 Claris
    Director
    Director
  • Jeffrey McNeely
    Writer
    Auhtor
  • Romain Claris
    Producer
    Producer
  • 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 Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    November 30, 2018
    Best Micro Short Smartphone
  • Avalonia Festival
    Providence
    United States
    April 20, 2018
    Best Philosophy in Animation Award
  • Avalonia Festival
    Providence
    United States
    April 20, 2018
    North American Premiere
    Best Animalia 1 Minute Movie award
  • Global India International Film Festival
    Pune
    India
    March 24, 2018
    Best Experimental Short Film Award
  • 1 Minuto Festival
    Brazil
    Brazil
    February 10, 2017
    Best short film award, Free Theme category,
  • Festival of Time
    Edmonton
    Canada
    January 4, 2019
    Best Vocal Performance
  • Short to the Point
    Bucarest
    Romania
    April 14, 2018
    Finalist
  • Toronto Smartphone Film Festival.
    Toronto
    Canada
    June 29, 2018
    Official selection
  • Ospizio Giovani Artisti - VideoArt Exhibition
    Rome
    Italy
    June 30, 2019
    Selection
  • Flick! Experimental Film Festival at UNCG 2018
    Greensboro
    United States
    April 26, 2018
    Official selection
  • 60 Second International Film Festival
    Islamabad
    Pakistan
    March 15, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Athens Animfest
    Athens
    Greece
    March 15, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Aab International Film Festival.
    Mogo, Punjab
    India
    April 22, 2018
    Official selection
  • Lake View International Film Festival
    Punjab
    March 12, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Video Art Event - Interface
    Oradea
    Romania
    May 19, 2018
    Finalist
  • Mister Vorky
    Ruma
    Serbia
    June 1, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Strano Film Festival
    Capestrano
    Italy
    August 23, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Art All Night - Trenton
    Trenton
    United States
    June 16, 2018
    Official Selection
  • International Ecological Film Festival TO SAVE AND PRESERVE
    Ugra
    Russian Federation
    June 4, 2018
    Official selection
  • New York Mobile Festival
    New York
    United States
    July 12, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Strasburg Film Festival
    Strasburg
    United States
    November 9, 2018
    Official Slection
  • Leicester International Short Film Festival
    Leicester
    United Kingdom
    August 20, 2018
    Official selection
  • Marmaris International Short Film Festival
    Marmaris
    Turkey
    October 8, 2018
    Official selection
  • Muestra Movimiento Audiovisual
    Guadalajara
    Mexico
    September 17, 2018
    Official selection
  • FIFAK Film Festival
    Klibia
    Tunisia
    August 12, 2018
    African Premiere
    Official selection
  • Norwich Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 7, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Västerås Filmfestival
    Västerås
    Sweden
    October 5, 2018
    Official Selection
  • BIDEODROMO Internacional Experimental Film and Video Festival
    Bilbao
    Spain
    September 24, 2018
    Official selection
  • Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival
    Worcester
    United States
    October 20, 2018
    Official selection
  • Chania Cartoon & Animation Festival
    Chania
    Greece
    September 17, 2018
    Official selection
  • International Exhibition of Super Short Films
    North Easton
    United States
    October 27, 2018
    Official selection
  • China International Green Film Week
    Beijing
    China
    October 10, 2018
    Official selection
  • IOFF - Independent Online Film Festival

    October 7, 2018
    Official selection
  • Super 9 Mobile Film Fest
    Porto
    Portugal
    December 1, 2018
    Official selection
  • Lobo Film Festival
    Brasilia
    Brazil
    November 27, 2018
    Official selection
  • Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival
    Isanbul
    Turkey
    November 23, 2018
    Official selection
  • Mobile International Film Festival
    Skopje
    Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of
    November 16, 2018
    Official selection
  • Last Frame Smartphone Fest
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 23, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Anilogue International Animation Festival
    Budapest
    Hungary
    November 28, 2018
    Official selection
  • African Smartphone International Film Festival
    Lagos
    Nigeria
    December 14, 2018
    Official selection
  • Dumbo Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    December 3, 2018
    Official selection
  • Experimental Edge Film Festival Season
    Tallahassee
    United States
    December 6, 2018
    Official selection
  • Festival du Film Minute de Lille
    Lille
    France
    December 8, 2018
    Sélection officielle
  • Inshort Film Festival 2018
    Lagos
    Nigeria
    Official Selection
  • Roma Cinema DOC Roma Cinema DOC
    Rome
    Italy
    February 9, 2019
    Official selection
  • Big D Mobile Phone Fest
    Dallas
    United States
    February 7, 2019
    Official selection
  • Pigrecozen International Film Festival
    Ancona
    Italy
    April 19, 2019
    Official selection
Distribution Information
  • Romain Claris
    Country: France
Director Biography - Romain Claris

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.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

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’’…