"FRENCHING" ...an independent film.

I made a film!

Have you ever felt like an outsider? A stranger in a strange land...? Joe Ollmann, (a Doug Wright Award-winning cartoonist), plays himself live and animated as an English-speaking transplant fumbling his way through French-speaking Montreal.



Me and my videographer friend Jen wanted to do a film together. I was obsessed with making Joe's characters come to life. Here's how we made "Frenching".



Joe is as nice as he is funny and talented, and I'd work with him again in a heartbeat. The animators had fun with his characters too. I also loved the music by Tom Mennier.

Recognize any famous Montreal landmarks?

PS: I embedded the directors' cut here cuz it has the credits and I think the team deserve credit. Here's the Bravo!FACT version; we thank them kindly for assisting in the funding.

Share.

Tweet

Le "Frenching".

Those who know me have seen my occasional tweet, "Frenching - blah blah blah... "
followed by, "... I'm exhausted... blah blah blah... groan... exhaustion... so tired... blah blah blah... etc".

"Frenching" is my latest film, a playful mix of live-action and animation.

My friend Jen introduced me to the work of Joe Ollmann two years ago. He's an award-winning cartoonist with several books under his belt in a hilariously gritty style.

The framed artwork from his comic "Frenching" hung on Jen's wall, beckoning to me...

Gazing at the characters on the page, I was like "Ohmigaaaaaaaaaaah.....!!!" cuz I could already see them moving and hear them speaking. They were calling out to me...

I just knew I had to bring Joe's work to life.

Jen and I managed to convince Bravo!FACT to help fund the film. That was in June 2010.

"What's the story behind "Frenching" JC!?" I hear you ask, "and uh, why do you burn yourself out like this?"

Let me ask you this: Have you ever felt like an outsider? Like you couldn't understand what people were saying and that they couldn't understand you? A fish out of water...?
A stranger in a strange land...? Huh? ...HUH?!? HAVE YOU??

Well, I have.

And that's what our English-speaking hero feels as he fumbles his way through French-speaking Montreal. It's not a language thing; it's a human thing.


If you've been following my life over the past few months, you prolly know that I Frenching-ed my way through the summer holiday; I Frenching-ed my way through the back-to-school thing; I Frenching-ed my way through my taxes; and I even Frenching-ed my way through plusieurs blogposts de merde, callis! Voilà!

So what happens to the central character in the story? Does he make it in the end? Will he find a way to get along...?

Now that Frenching is done, will I get a break from my infernal creative drive?!?

I wonder you ever found a way to get along when you were a fish out of water. Do tell, s'il vous plait...!

See the finished film.

Tweet