Sylvain Chomet and Jacques Tati's Illusionist to open Anim'est 2010

The illusionist/ L'illusioniste, Sylvain Chomet's film based on the last screenplay of famous French filmmaker, Jacques Tati (1907-1982), is going to kick start the fifth edition of the Anim'est International Animation Film Festival, on Friday, October 8, 2010, at Patria Cinema in Bucharest.

With its world preview screening held at the Berlin film Festival's most recent edition, in the section called Berlinale Special, and selected for the prestigious festivals of Karlovy Vary, Edinburgh and Toronto, The Illusionist is the tale of an unusual friendship between an old magician and a young girl who believes in his supernatural powers. Forced by the obsolete nature of his craft to live a traveler’s life, illusionist Eisenheim meets young Alice during one of his shows, in the tavern of a remote village in Western Scotland. Alice is so impressed by the old man's tricks, that she travels alongside him all the way to Edinburgh, in what appears to be a magical adventure in itself.

The Illusionist is the second feature film directed by Sylvain Chomet, the maker of the multi-award winning Les Triplettes de Belleville ( France, 2003)- which is the winner of the César Award, double nominee for the Oscar, nominated at the BAFTA  Awards, Grammy, British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) and La vieille dame et les pigeons (France, 1998)- Grand Prize winner for Best Shortfilm at the prestigious Annecy Animation Film Festival and of the BAFTA Award for Best animation shortfilm, also nominated at the Oscars and the César Awards. In 2006, Sylvain Chomet directed one of the short films in the omnibus film Paris, je t'aime, alongside co-directors such as Joel and Ethan Cohen, Alfonso Cuaron, Gus van Sant, Isabel Coixet or Gerard Depardieu.

The film's screenplay is based on the last screenplay ever written by French director, actor and screenwriter, Jacques Tati, a cult-figure in the history of European film, the maker of the famous Les Vacances de M. Hulot (1953), Mon Oncle (1958) or Jour de fête (1949), classic films, awarded at Cannes, Venice and César Award winners. Thus, the story of the Illusionist borrows from the sense of humor, delicacy and subtlety in Tati's screenplays, to create a story about the artist's condition, its inherent frustrations, but also the satisfactions and wisdom an authentic artist can obtain.

The Illusionist is just one of the most recent hits in independent animation film to be screened at this year's Anim'est in the traditional Mosaic section, which usually hosts the hot feature and short animations of the year, awarded or presented at the most important festivals in the world.