Seven Years to Reach the Screen
Claude Barras said the adaptation developed over roughly seven years before production, beginning after he discovered Gilles Paris's novel through longtime collaborator Cédric Louis.
Movie
My Life as a Zucchini
SOMETIMES WE CRY BECAUSE WE'RE HAPPY.
After his mother’s death, Zucchini is befriended by a kind police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home filled with other orphans his age. There, with the help of his newfound friends, Zucchini eventually learns to trust and love as he searches for a new family of his own.
Why it's in the Vault
My Life as a Zucchini is the kind of discovery that makes digging beyond the obvious films worthwhile. What initially looks like a modest children's animation reveals remarkably expressive stop-motion, an emotionally intelligent story and a group of characters who become richer with every scene. The film is especially good at challenging first impressions: even Simon, initially positioned as the bully, gradually becomes understandable, vulnerable and ultimately deeply endearing. Tender without becoming sugary and painful without losing hope, this is one of those rare little films that arrives quietly and leaves an unexpectedly large mark.
— Matty, Curator of the Vault*
Atmosphere
Tender, bittersweet, intimate, hopeful, childlike
Emotional tenderness
Childhood resilience
Melancholy
Playfulness
Deals with parental death, neglect, abuse, addiction and abandonment through a sensitive child-centred perspective, while ultimately emphasizing friendship, care and recovery.
Dans les coulisses
Ce qu'on ne voit pas à l'écran
54 Tiny Performers
Puppet maker Grégory Beaussart and a team of ten spent around ten months producing 54 puppets for the film, before part of the team moved into the studio to maintain and repair them throughout shooting.
Built for Emotion
The characters' oversized heads and enormous eyes were not simply an aesthetic choice. Barras had developed this streamlined design language through earlier shorts because it allowed the puppets to communicate remarkably subtle emotions.
Céline Sciamma Reshaped the Adaptation
Barras collaborated with Céline Sciamma on the screenplay after years of developing the adaptation, bringing her particular sensitivity to childhood and young characters to the project.
Two César Wins
The film won both Best Animated Film and Best Adaptation at the 2017 César Awards, with Sciamma receiving the adaptation award.
Aux origines
Autobiographie d'une Courgette
Claude Barras's film adapts Paris's novel about a boy nicknamed Courgette and his life among other children carrying difficult family histories, reshaping the material into a concise stop-motion story centred on resilience, friendship and the possibility of rebuilding a family.
Palette
Les couleurs du film
Zucchini Blue#557A92
Camille Red#B95F58
Playground Yellow#D5AE58
Dormitory Green#778B70
Soft Sky#91B1BC
Warm Wood#A87958
Images
