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ESMA at the UTOPIALES festival!

News . 13 Nov. 2024

Cycle Pro Animation 3D & Effets Spéciaux

The Utopiales festival will take place from 30 October to 3 November 2024 at the Cité des Congrès in Nantes! As every year, you’ll be able to discover innovative and creative projects created by ESMA students. Les Utopiales is an internationally renowned event devoted to science fiction, bringing together enthusiasts, creators, artists, scientists and intellectuals to explore the many facets of the imaginary world through literature, film, comics and discussion. Through conferences, screenings and exhibitions, the festival invites visitors to reflect on future technological and scientific developments, often in relation to the major issues of our time.

Les Utopiales and ESMA

ESMA has been participating in Les Utopiales for several years, a collaboration that highlights animation as a powerful means of exploring imaginary worlds, a central theme of the festival.

Thanks to its expertise in animated film, ESMA brings a new dimension to this universe by showcasing the creations of its students.

“The Bestiole” round table

Thursday 31st October at 3pm

A key moment in this collaboration is the round table entitled ‘How to observe and interpret changes in the animal world’, an interdisciplinary project bringing together the talents of students from ESMA and ONIRIS, a school specialising in veterinary and agri-food science.

Together, they have explored the transformations of insects due to environmental changes, proposing an artistic interpretation of these mutations.

Their research and experiments will be presented in the form of sketches, images, posters and research notebooks. This work is the starting point for a research-creation project aimed at designing insects in 3D, as part of ESMA students’ third year.

The observation sessions took place at the Nantes Natural History Museum. This round table, moderated by Véronique Lenouvel and Suzanne Bastian, will offer a fascinating exchange between science and art.

Screening of “Other worlds”

Saturday 2 November at 12.45pm

On Saturday 2 November at 12:45, ESMA will be screening a series of short films made by its students on the theme of ‘Other Worlds’. These films plunge into universes where the natural cycle is disrupted and perceptions of reality are turned upside down. Through unique narratives, they explore profound questions linked to survival and humanity.

Here are the films to discover:

Vidalia: After the massacre of their village, Cal and Vidalia venture into a hostile forest in search of the last inhabitants.
Directed by Enzo Regardin, Bastien L’Hourre, Tabatha Hugues, Emile Lachkar, Constance Cartaut, Morgane Jolivel, Céline Soubrane, Camille Borg, Diane Hamel.
Roald: A toad who can see life in colour meets a paranoid fly whose perception of the world is completely the opposite.
Directed by Clara Bigache, Armand Gaucheron, Laurent Chavalle, Alexis Lheureux, Julie Chêne, Maxime Prone, Thibault Chopinet.
Stranded: In Alaska at the end of the 19th century, a trapper comes across a supernatural moose that seems to herald the end of the world.
Directed by Alvin Arevalo-Zamora, Alwin Durez, Quentin Garaud, Maxime Salvatore, Florent Sanglard, Thomas Spony Ipiens, Alex Tregouet.
Trajectory: A character, obsessed with a world that makes him suffer, undergoes physical deformations as a result of this fascination.
Directed by Guillaume Béguin, Serena Longo-Brunet, Brice Esquer, Léon Rousseau, Nathalie Hurtak, Allan Savarit-Bodin, Noémie Layre, Clément Wallez.

Screening: “À ta place” (young audience)

Saturday 2 November at 2.45pm

A second screening, aimed at younger audiences, will be held on the same day at 2.45pm on the theme of ‘À ta place! In this selection of humorous short films, ESMA students present characters in search of their identity, often plunged into offbeat or hostile worlds.

Here are the films to discover:

Coquille: Bernard, an egocentric hermit crab, loses his shell and has to find a new one, all the while facing the dangers of the beach.
Directed by Justine Aubert, Cassandra Bouton, Grégoire Callies, Maud Chesneau, Anna Danton, Loïc Girault, Gatien Peyrude, Justine Raux.
Alternative Mesozoic: In a world where humans and dinosaurs live side by side, Rex, a peaceful dinosaur, is annoyed by the invasive attitude of humans.
Directed by Swann Boby, Lucie Laudrin, Marion Métivier, Léna Miguet, Sixtine Sanrame, Marie Schaeffer.
Malacabra: What if a goat had been responsible for the fall of the Mayan civilisation?
Directed by Marylou Bort, Valentine Miniot, Mathilde Bourges, Vincent Noguès, Hugo Florin, Axel Prukop, Jérémy Guibert, Pierre Segonds.