PARIS — Silex Films is developing “The Adventurers of Modern Art,” a E2.5 million ($3.3 million) docu series weaving animation and archive footage to chronicle the lives of leading 20th century artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Eluard and Louis Aragon.
Based on Dan Franck’s (“Carlos”) book anthology “Bohemes: Les Aventures de l’Art Moderne,” the six-part skein will span the first half of the 20th century.
“The series will describe the vibrant cultural scene of Paris back then, and depict the friendships and rivalry that linked the artists of the time,” said Judith Nora, who is producing with fellow Silex’s co-founders Elisa Larriere and Priscilla Bertin.
Textured animation — a mix of paint-on-glass and collage — will be used to relate the fictionalized or undocumented parts of the narration.
Franco-German net Arte commissioned the series for its Sunday primetime slot.
Silex tapped French studio Les 3 Ours to create the animation, and Amelie Harrault, whose short “Mademoiselle Kiki et les Montparnos” played at Annecy, to co-direct with editor-turned-helmer Veronique Laguarde-Segot, whose editing credit include Oscar-nommed docu “Five Broken Cameras.”
“Franck’s anthology gives us a very solid basis: it’s filled with a wealth of private anecdotes about these artists and it gives an entertaining perspective on the personal, political and historical context that surrounded each significant work of art,” said Larriere.
The producers are in the process of obtaining the archives from a wide variety of sources, from Pathe-Gaumont Archives to the Matisse and Picasso foundations.
Project will be presented this week as part of the BIPS (Best International Project Showcase) at Sunny Side of the Doc market in La Rochelle, where the producers will be looking to close pre-sales.
Delivery is scheduled for March 2014.
