Born in 1961 in the Czech Republic, a graduate of the School of Applied Arts in Prague, Michaela Pavlatova, actress, screenwriter and director of series and live action films, has also distinguished herself through her animated short films . Reci, reci, reci (a word that means “speech” in Czech), released in 1991, Say again (1995) and Tram (2012), gems of its kind, have won multiple awards at international festivals.
In 2015, Michaela Pavlatova discovered the book by chance in a bookstore Freshta (released in English in 2012, never translated in France), by the great Czech war reporter Petra Prochazkova. The filmmaker immediately wanted to adapt it to the cinema, in long format and 2D animation. “I suddenly had the motif of the film I was looking for without knowing it”she says. my afghan family is finally released in theaters, after winning the Jury Prize at the 2021 Annecy Festival, and a nomination for the 2022 Golden Globes.
What was the progress of this project, between reading the book and making the film?
I called negative [l’une des principales sociétés de production cinématographique en République tchèque] to tell them about my project. I then learned that they already had an adaptation of Petra Prochazkova’s book in their drawers. Intended for a classic film, the idea of this adaptation had proved to be too complicated, too expensive and had been abandoned. The animated film project enchanted them and we got started straight away.
This first adaptation was important, because a lot of work had already been done. So we started by doing many tests on the drawing, taking the side of realism. But my producer, Petr Oukropec, found the result odd. Realism has the disadvantage of highlighting the slightest defect. And then Petr felt that my work was not recognized there. I agreed with him.
What direction did you take then?
I started with a simpler, more bare graphic palette that allowed me to go to the essentials, tighten the plot and give more force to crucial situations. I didn’t try to stylize the image too much, as the animation can encourage it, but I used the tools in a natural way, always at the service of the atmosphere and the story. Above all, I didn’t want to highlight the aesthetics, but, on the contrary, to ensure that the spectator forgets the animated form to become attached to the story and the characters.
And, on the screenplay, how did you work?
You have 49.13% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.