Animation Weekender: My Life as a Courgette
Cultplex50 Red Bank
Fri 25 Sept · 17:00
About this event
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Claude Barras’s My Life as a Courgette tears up the rulebook for children’s cinema. Adapted from Gilles Paris’ book by Céline Sciamma ( Girlhood, Tomboy ), this melancholy yet witty claymation traces the effects of childhood tragedy. Nine-year-old Icare, known to his friends as ‘Courgette’, finds himself in a local orphanage after the accidental death of his alcoholic mother. Here he meets a group of children, each with their own emotional burdens and traumas to bear. Rather than dwelling on their misfortunes, the kids adopt a pragmatic approach to leading their lives, finding ways to co-exist in relative harmony. And the arrival of young Camille gives Courgette his first taste of hope and possible romance. Despite its disarmingly uncomplicated look, this stunning animated feature deals with its mature themes subtly and with respect, eschewing sentimentality for brutal honesty and exploring the ways we adapt to the world and make the best of our lives. French Language with English Subtitles This is a family friendly screening! Rated PG - references to bereavement, traumatic childhood experiences, and mild sex references. Runtime: 66 minutes Director: Claude Barras Country: France Year: 2016 Rating: (PG) Film
Follow the thread
If this is your kind of night, these are other ways in: a collection this venue belongs to, traditions it works in, and similar cinema still playing in Manchester this week.
This venue’s world
This venue sits in the collection, not this one title.
Traditions this room works in
Tags on the venue. Other Manchester rooms carry the same lineage. Not a claim that this film invented the tradition.
Also playing this week
Same kind of night (cinema) in Manchester. Spread across the week, not a ranking.
A different kind of night
Same city and close on taste. A different discipline, on purpose.
