Mar 18, 2017

Check out the teaser for "Vanille," a unique TV special by Guillaume Rolland

Last fall, one of the most visually compelling presentations at Cartoon Forum, Europe's largest platform for animated television co-production, was "Vanille," a 26-minute animated special developed by Guillaume Rolland.

Rolland recently posted a teaser online, inviting support for the project:

Hailing from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Rolland incorporates a transforming character from Caribbean folklore called the Soukjanto to tell the story of the kinky-haired Vanille He makes liberal use of local culture, including:

Vanille, a 9-year-old mixed-race Parisienne, straightens her hair every morning as usual. But little does she know that a few days later, she is in the middle of Guadeloupe's lush rainforest with a half-breed, half-shrub boy, searching for the rarest of all flowers! Vanille doesn't even realize that the key to her success lies in the nature of her hair itself...

"The main message for me is to accept who I am and where I come from," Lorin recently explained to Animation Week.

A graduate of the French animation directing school La Poudrière, Rolland brings strong art credentials to the project. He was the animator on Yùl and the Snake, winner of the 2016 Cartoon d'Or Short Film Award, and also worked on Folimage's feature Aunt Hilda!

Mixing hand-drawn animation with live-action backgrounds, "Vanille" will be produced at Folimage. Nadasdi Film of Switzerland is co-producing the film. It is currently looking for a French or European broadcaster.

In addition to a fresh sense of design, the most striking feature of "Vanille" is the animated teaser. Vanille's acting is not puppeted or restricted, as in many animated TV series, but is a living, breathing character in the tradition of all great 2D animation.

Rolland adds a unique voice to the art form, and his artwork speaks for itself. We hope to see Vanille's adventures sooner rather than later.