Aug 22nd (Sat) 16:45～ @JMS ASTER PLAZA Medium Hall
This program is curated by Yuki Arai, who served as a member of the HAS2026 Competition Selection Committee. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of André Martin, the French critic and educator who played a significant role in popularizing the term “animation” and shaping the culture of animation film festivals. In celebration of this occasion, the program highlights Martin’s creative activities beyond his achievements as a critic. Alongside the screening of his rare film works, audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy a talk by the curator.
Curator: Yuki Arai
Guest: Yuki Arai
Two nurses place a faulty radio on a stretcher. They take it to the Radio Clinique shop, which handles all repairs.
This commissioned film for the Ministry of Construction traces the history of Paris’s development and the region’s expansion projects. It offers a forward-looking vision of Île-de-France’s urbanization at the time.
Produced by Roger Leenhardt, this film already brought together the future team of Films Martin-Boschet, including René Foin, Michel Roudevitch, Julien Pappé, Jacques Leroux, and Manuel Otero. The film’s animation style echoes that of UPA during its golden era in the early 1950s, predating the mass production era for television.
music composer: Guy Bernard
For this screening, we will enjoy a version restored by the CNC and the VDM laboratory specifically for the event! A painter in the Luxembourg Gardens paints the palace. The painter, played by Michel Boschet, struggles to complete his painting.
"Patamorphosis" features a series of scenes showcasing various stop-motion film techniques, all delivered in a burlesque and entertaining style. It reflects André Martin’s enduring fascination with technique, whether in animation or all forms of image production.
music composer: Geneviève Martin
The film tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a Parisian “ethnographer” who travels to a small village deep in the heart of Africa. Equipped with the full arsenal of a visual and audio documentarian, he measures, films, and records local sounds, music, and dances. Back in Paris, he makes a fortune with the music of one of his uncredited recordings. But the unscrupulous ethnographer will ultimately have to answer for his plagarism…
A humourous and musical film about the defense of copyright and cultural diversity.
music composer: Geneviève Martin
To escape the noise of the city, a house takes flight. As it drifts through space, the furniture it once contained slips away and eventually furnishes an apartment on the Moon.
The first French animated film created using computer-generated volumetric animation (image) and the 4X sound system (audio).
music composer: Geneviève Martin
On December 31, 2025, André Martin would have turned 100. A tireless critic, filmmaker, researcher, and champion of animation, this native of Bordeaux left an indelible mark on five decades of animation cinema—even coining the term "film d’animation" in 1952.
The Critic
With over a hundred publications spanning 50 years—from Cahiers du Cinéma to Banc-Titre—André Martin was a keen observer of animation’s evolution. He played a pivotal role in establishing animation as a "seventh art bis," a distinct and respected artistic discipline.
The Animator of Cinema in All Its Forms
A masterful showman of post-war cine-clubs, André Martin founded and led festivals for 40 years:
• Les Journées du Cinéma (1951)
• Tours Short Film Festival (1955)
• International Animation Film Days (JICA) (1956)
• Annecy International Animation Festival (1960, 3rd JICA)
• Ottawa International Animation Festival (1976)
• Monte-Carlo New Images Forum (1981)
The Filmmaker
André Martin directed numerous animated films with Michel Boschet from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, including commissioned works, advertisements, fiction, and collaborations with ORTF’s research department. He also produced two documentaries on photography and two on television and media for the National Film Board of Canada. In 1982, he created the first 3D narrative short film on a Sogitec flight simulator, featuring synthetic sound and music on IRCAM’s 4X system.
The Researcher and Visionary
A deeply cultured thinker with a passion for technology and sociology, André Martin led the research division of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for nearly a decade. His "McLuhanesque" analysis of telecommunications and media offered a prescient vision of society that remains strikingly relevant today.
Upon returning to France, he joined the INA’s Image Research Group. His time in North America allowed him to fully grasp the significance of computer animation. In the 1980s, he passionately advocated for "new images," predicting their transformative impact on animation—long before the industry recognized their potential. His 1981 article, "Animation Is Dead, Long Live Animation!" embodies this forward-thinking perspective.
Legacy
André Martin’s influence reshaped animation cinema, elevating it as a creative field and fostering international collaboration among its creators. His remarkable journey spans 50 years of cinema, culture, and global evolution with fascinating Conporaneities.
The GAMCA Animation Association will host a series of events throughout 2026 to celebrate this legacy. Stay updated at gamca.info.