The King and the Mockingbird
Giants, fairies, magicians, ghosts, dragons, and monsters of all kinds… Here’s what your Cinémathèque has in store this summer! Since Méliès, filmmakers have embraced the fanstastic potential of cinema, creating infinite phantasmagorias and extraordinary spectacles where the unreal becomes real. Step into a world of fantasy and boundless imagination: whatever your generation, the monsters and wonders that once filled your childhood dreams are back this summer 2025!
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In the secret apartment of His Majesty, a painter is putting the finishing touches to the king's portrait. But he forgot to draw a cage first. And the portrait, which is the damned soul of the king, suppresses his model and takes his place. As a result, the essence of things is revealed, the inexpressible can be expressed. The painting representing a shepherdess and a chimney sweep comes to life. They confess their love. But the king is in love with the shepherdess, and the children who love each other must save themselves... Script and dialogues by Jacques Prévert, based on The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep by Hans Christian Andersen.
Paul Grimault
Paul Grimault was a French animated film director. He studied at the Germain-Pilon drawing school from 1919 to 1922, then worked in the Pomone decoration workshop at Le Bon Marché. After his military service, he was employed as a furniture designer and, in 1929, joined the Agence Damour advertising studio as a draftsman. There, he met Jean Aurenche, Jean Anouilh and Jacques Prévert. From 1931 to 1936, he was also part of the theater group Octobre and played small roles in films, notably in L'Atalante by Jean Vigo. In 1936, together with André Sarrut, he founded the animation studio Les Gémeaux, which closed in 1950. After making several advertising films and animated shorts, Grimault directed his first feature film, La bergère et le ramoneur (1953), based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Despite the dedication of Les Gémeaux's 150 dedicated employees, Grimault and Prévert faced significant financial challenges in completing the film after five years of hard work. In the end, André Sarrut released a botched version of the film with a compromised ending, against the wishes of the filmmakers, who disowned it. In 1976, Paul Grimault bought back the film's negatives to create Le roi et l'oiseau, completing the film as originally intended with the help of young animators. On its release, the film won the Louis Delluc Prize. Paul Grimault received an honorary César at the 14th César Awards in 1989.
