{{Short description|2022 animated short film by Stéphanie Clément}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox film | image = Pachyderme 2022 film poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Release poster | director = Stéphanie Clément | writer = Marc Rius | producer = {{plainlist| * Thomas Giusiano<ref name="Folimage">{{cite web|url=https://www.folimage.fr/fr/films/pachyderme-230.htm|title=Pachyderme|publisher=Folimage|language=fr|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> * Mathieu Rey<ref name="Folimage" /> * Marc Rius<ref name="Folimage" /> }} | starring = Christa Théret | editing = Stéphanie Clément<ref>{{cite web <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |url=https://imaginaria.eu/en/pachyderme/|title=Pachyderme|publisher=Imaginaria - International Animated Film Festival|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> | music = Olivier Militon<ref name="Folimage" /> | animator = {{plainlist| * Marthe Delaporte (3D)<ref name="Folimage" /> * Jérémy Ortiz (3D)<ref name="Folimage" /> * Marine Vaisse (3D)<ref name="Folimage" /> * Marc Robinet (2D)<ref name="Folimage" /> * Mina Convers (2D)<ref name="Folimage" /> * Morten Riisberg Hansen (2D)<ref name="Folimage" /> }} | color_process = Color | studio = {{plainlist| * TNZPV Productions * Folimage }} | distributor = Miyu Distribution | released = {{Film date|df=yes|2022|4|24|Festival national du film d'animation|2022|6|12|Arte}} | runtime = 11 minutes<ref name="Folimage" /> | country = France | language = French }} '''''{{lang|fr|Pachyderme}}''''' ({{IPA|fr|pa.ʃi.dɛʁm}}) is a 2022 French animated short film directed by Stéphanie Clément. Blending traditional and computer animation, the film is a subtle narrative about a young girl's survival of childhood abuse. The animation creates a visual metaphor for the dissociative nature of the trauma she suffers. It features the voice of Christa Théret.<ref name="Cartoon Brew">{{cite web|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/oscar-shortlist-interviews-director-stephanie-clement-shares-her-favorite-shot-from-pachyderme-exclusive-236699.html|title=Oscar Shortlist Interviews: Director Stéphanie Clément Shares Her Favorite Shot From 'Pachyderme' (Exclusive)|last=Lang|first=Jamie|date=12 January 2024|website=Cartoon Brew|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> It won Best Short Film at the Manchester Animation Festival and Best Animated Short at the Foyle Film Festival,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Milligan|first=Mercedes|date=18 November 2022|title='Nayola,' 'Pachyderm' Win Top Prizes at Manchester Animation Fest|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2022/11/nayola-pachyderm-win-top-prizes-at-manchester-animation-fest/|magazine=Animation Magazine|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Clinton|first=Orlaith|date=29 November 2022|title=Foyle Film Festival: Winners of Light in Motion Competition Awards announced|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/foyle-film-festival-winners-light-25628096|work=Belfast Live|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> and was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Zahed|first=Ramin|date=23 January 2024|title=Animation and VFX Nominees for the 96th Academy Awards Are Announced|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/01/animation-and-vfx-nominees-for-the-96th-academy-awards-are-announced/|magazine=Animation Magazine|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Verniere|first=James|date=16 February 2024|title=Oscar-nominated animated shorts worth watching|url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/02/16/oscar-nominated-animated-shorts-worth-watching/|newspaper=Boston Herald|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref>
==Synopsis== A nine-year-old girl is dropped off by her parents at her grandparents' country house, where she is to spend ten days on holiday. On the way to her room she has to walk past the tusk of a pachyderm. At night, she is frightened by the knots of wood in the ceiling that resemble eyes. Rather than count sheep, she must kill the "monsters" to fall asleep. She is also unsettled by the old wooden floorboards that creak outside her room. Her grandmother assures her that her room is safe and that nothing can happen to her at their home, telling her to go to sleep. She hides in the wallpaper and closes her eyes.
One day she pricks herself with a fishing hook and her grandfather heals it with a kiss. Although it no longer hurt, she would smell his saliva on her finger all day long. Outside, he cuts off the rosebuds because he does not like to see the flowers wither. He removes her bike's training wheels and takes her to a lake, where he goes fishing and she swims in her underwear. One day, a woman drowns in the lake. At night, her grandfather sometimes takes her into the forest to listen to animals, where she is told not to move and keep quiet. One day he enters her room and she sinks into the wallpaper.
One day it snows in the summer and her grandfather dies. That same night, the tusk is broken and later glued back together by her grandmother. Afterwards, the girl rarely visits her grandmother. The girl matures into adulthood and, after her grandmother's death, attempts to drown the tusk into the lake. But the lake can never be deep enough.
==Production== {{quote box | quote="I sought to create images that would inspire in the viewer a mixed feeling of gentleness and unease. By introducing, for example, a sense of disquiet through framing and composition. The sky is virtually non-existent in the film. When the sky is present, it is obstructed by an element – the grandparents' house, a tree, etc. – to evoke the character's lack of escape. The little girl is a prisoner, trapped in a play of frame-within-a-frame, the outline of a door or a window. She is often fragmented in the shot, her upper body separated from her lower, as if dispossessed of herself. Sometimes, it's her eyes that are cropped out, as the sign of a forbidden." | source = —Stéphanie Clément<ref name="Animation Scoop" /> | width = 30em | bgcolor = cornsilk | align = right | fontsize = 90% | salign = right }} The film follows a young woman named Louise who remembers her summer vacation to the countryside to stay with her grandparents. The story is told through fairytale-like, concise animations that evoke the style of children's books, and which ambiguously and subtly create an eerie atmosphere where the young girl perceives the grandfather as a silent, foreboding presence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 February 2024 |title='The 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films' Review: Small Running Times, Large Themes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/movies/the-2024-oscar-nominated-short-films-review.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=30 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Desowitz |first=Bill |date=22 December 2023 |title=The 2024 Oscars Shortlist for Animated Short Includes Entries Touching on the Holocaust, Gender Identity, and Disney's Legacy |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/animation/2024-oscars-shortlist-animated-shorts-1234948806/ |access-date=30 July 2025 |website=IndieWire}}</ref><ref name="Tallahassee Democrat">{{cite news|last=Vaught|first=Isaac|date=16 February 2024|title=Quiet violence of Oscars' best animated shorts accentuates vulnerability|url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/entertainment/things-to-do/2024/02/16/quiet-violence-of-oscars-best-animated-shorts-emphasizes-gravity/72596389007/|newspaper=Tallahassee Democrat|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kermode |first=Jennie |title=Pachyderme (2022) Film Review |url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pachyderme-2022-film-review-by-jennie-kermode |access-date=30 July 2025 |website=Eye For Film}}</ref>
Stéphanie Clément and screenwriter Marc Rius both originate from Provence. The project began from their shared desire to work together and approach the topic of incest. They worked to craft a film based on various psychological defense mechanisms, such as dissociation and repression. According to Clément, their story focuses on "an emotionally anesthetized character who struggles with their own memories". They chose the remoteness of the south of France as their setting and wanted the narrative to reflect the "banality" of everyday life there. They also adapted the film's color scheme to capture the landscape of the region. They used dreamlike imagery and symbolism to ensure viewers were more receptive to the difficult subject matter and to further evoke different feelings in the viewer.<ref name="Animation Scoop">{{cite web|url=https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-the-challenges-of-challenging-pachyderme/|title=INTERVIEW: The Challenges Of Challenging "Pachyderme"|last=Murphy|first=Jackson|date=15 January 2024|website=Animation Scoop|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2023/09/27/pachyderme|title=Pachyderme - an animated short film by Stéphanie Clément|last=Munday|first=Rob|website=Short of the Week|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref>
''Pachyderme'' was produced by Tu Nous ZA Pas Vus (TNZPV) Productions and Folimage. It received support from the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Arte France, Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Région Grand Est, Département de la Haute-Savoie, Département de la Drôme, Valence Romans Agglo, and SACEM in association with the Maison du Film.<ref name="Folimage" /> The film blends 2D animation from the Folimage studio with the Blender CGI technology of TNZPV Studio's 3D teams.<ref name="Cartoon Brew" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://static.folimage.fr/document/press-kit-pachyderme_tnzpv_fyc_03-01-24.pdf|title=Press Kit 2 (English)|website=Folimage|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref>
==Release== The film premiered on 24 April 2022 at the Festival national du film d'animation in Rennes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2022.festival-film-animation.fr/agenda/grille-de-programmation.html#/fr/film/7652/Pachyderme|title=Pachyderme|publisher=Festival national du film d'animation|language=fr|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> It was broadcast in Germany and France on 12 June 2022 through the Arte television channel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/080080-000-A/dickhaeuter/|title=Dickhäuter - Film in voller Länge|language=de|access-date=17 February 2024|archive-date=21 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221162151/https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/080080-000-A/dickhaeuter/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was also screened in the official competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 13 June 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.annecyfestival.com/programme-2022/event/100001503617|title=Official 3|publisher=Annecy Festival|access-date=17 February 2024|archive-date=17 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217204758/https://www.annecyfestival.com/programme-2022/event/100001503617|url-status=dead}}</ref> Distribution was handled by Miyu Distribution.<ref name="Folimage" />
==Reception==
===Accolades=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" | Award ! scope="col" | Date of ceremony ! scope="col" | Category ! scope="col" | Recipient(s) ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Ref heading}} |- ! scope="row" | Academy Awards | 10 March 2024 | Best Animated Short Film | Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius | {{nom}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Lang|first1=Brent|last2=Moreau|first2=Jordan|date=23 January 2024|title=Oscar Nominations 2024: 'Oppenheimer' Dominates With 13 Nods, 'Poor Things' Follows With 11|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/oscar-nominations-2024-list-1235877798/|magazine=Variety|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | Animafest Zagreb | 11 June 2022 | Grand Prix – Short Film | rowspan="8" | ''Pachyderme'' | {{nom}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite magazine|last=Milligan|first=Mercedes|date=21 March 2022|title=Animafest Presents Grand Competition Selection for 50th Anniversary Fest|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2022/03/animafest-presents-grand-competition-selection-for-50th-anniversary-fest/|magazine=Animation Magazine|access-date=18 February 2024}}</ref> |- ! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Annecy International Animation Film Festival | rowspan="2" | 18 June 2022 | Cristal du court métrage | {{nom}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.annecyfestival.com/the-festival/competition/2022:cmc|title=Annecy 2022 Official Selection: Official Short Films in Competition|publisher=Annecy Festival|access-date=18 February 2024|archive-date=18 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218063853/https://www.annecyfestival.com/the-festival/competition/2022:cmc|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | Prix du jury SensCritique | {{won}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/100064915232907/posts/10159019169572987/|title=🏆 Prix du jury SensCritique 🏆 Le court-métrage "Pachyderme" de Stéphanie Clément remporte le prix du Jury SensCritique au Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy ! 💚 👏 Félicitations à toute l'équipe du film et merci aux participants du Jury !|author=SensCritique|date=20 June 2022|website=Facebook|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | Foyle Film Festival | 27 November 2022 | Light in Motion Competition – Best Animated Short | {{won}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite web|url=https://foylefilmfestival.org/news/foyle-film-festivals-light-in-motion-competition-award-winners-announced|title=Light in Motion Competition 2022 Award Winners Announced|date=28 November 2022|publisher=Foyle Film Festival|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | Manchester Animation Festival | 18 November 2022 | Best Short Film | {{won}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk/maf-2022-crown-winners/|title=MAF 2022 Crown Winners!|date=19 November 2022|publisher=Manchester Animation Festival|access-date=17 February 2024|archive-date=17 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217203208/https://www.manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk/maf-2022-crown-winners/|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | Meknes International Animated Film Festival | 8 March 2023 | Grand Prix | {{won}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite news|last=Ouiddar|first=Nadia|date=9 March 2024|title=FICAM : mention spéciale pour le court métrage "L'ombre des papillons" de la marocaine Sofia El Khyari|url=https://lematin.ma/express/2023/ficammention-speciale-lombre-papillons-sofia-el-khyari/387494.html|newspaper=Le Matin|language=fr|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | Nice European Short Film Festival (Un Festival C'est Trop Court!) | 14 October 2022 | Prix Courts d'Ici | {{won}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite web <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |url=https://www.nicefilmfestival.com/decouvrez-le-palmares-de-la-22eme-edition-dun-festival-cest-trop-court/|title=Découvrez le palmarès de la 22ème édition d'Un Festival C'est Trop Court!|publisher=Héliotrope|language=fr|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | Voix d'Étoiles – Festival international des voix du cinéma d'animation | 29 October 2022 | Étoile du meilleur court métrage | {{won}} | align="center" | <ref>{{cite news|date=1 November 2022|title=Festival Voix d'Étoiles à Leucate : le palmarès 2022|url=https://www.ladepeche.fr/2022/11/01/festival-voix-detoiles-a-leucate-le-palmares-2022-10775271.php|newspaper=La Dépêche|language=fr|access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref> |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title}}
{{Portal bar|Animation|Film|France|2020s}} Category:2022 3D films Category:2022 animated short films Category:2022 computer-animated films Category:2022 drama films Category:2020s French animated films Category:2022 French-language films Category:3D animated short films Category:Animated films about children Category:Animated films set in France Category:French 3D films Category:French animated short films Category:French animated drama films Category:French computer-animated films Category:Films about child sexual abuse Category:Films about incest Category:Folimage films Category:Films set in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur