Award-Winning Stop-Motion Animation Short Film | Raymonde or the Vertical Escape

Raymonde is really fed up with peas, aphids, dirty panties and her kitchen garden to dig. After all, she would prefer sex, and love, and the immensity of the sky... A selection of Short of the Week, the web’s leading curators of quality short films. SUBMIT A FILM: FULL REVIEW: Subscribe to S/W on YouTube! Website: Instagram: Facebook: Twitter: Raymonde or the Vertical Escape Directed by Sarah Van Den Boom “After playing to film festival crowds worldwide through 2018 and 2019, Sarah Van Den Boom’s hugely impressive stop-motion short Raymonde ou l’évasion verticale (Raymonde or the Vertical Escape) arrived online earlier in 2020, for internet audiences to share in its wonder. A technically impressive piece filled with relatable anthropomorphised animal characters, brought to life via detailed puppets, this is a story that shows it is never too late to change your life and live differently. Opening with peaceful tracking shots of landscapes silhouetted by the freshly risen sun, Raymonde or the Vertical Escape’s calming beginning is soon punctured by the cries of a fleeing postman (or in this case postdog) as he runs from the titular Raymonde’s home. The reasons for his escape only becomes clear later, as we learn more about the 60yr-old Owl-woman at the centre Van Den Boom’s short, and her lonely existence. Describing her film as one about “desire in the broad sense”, Van Den Boom explains (in the film’s press kit) that her character is searching for “a form of transcendence that would make her see the world from above and taste a kind of passion to which all her soul aspires”. Essentially a tale of self-discovery, Raymonde is looking back at her life and wondering if she made the right choices – as her impulses are telling her something quite different. Over the film’s 17-minute duration, Van Den Boom immerses you in Raymonde’s world – both the physical one in which she exists and the confused headspace where her thoughts dwell. It’s a sombre, melancholy viewing experience, tinged with humour, but like many solemn storylines it ends with a positive note. A ray of hope breaking through the thick clouds of despair.’ - S/W Curator Rob Munday SCENARIO AND DIALOGS : Sarah Van Den Boom TRANSLATIONS : Camille Pesquer ART DIRECTION : Sarah Van Den Boom CAMERA AND LIGHTS : Simon Filliot CAMERA ASSISTANT : Quentin Lemouland EDITION : Sarah Van Den Boom, Annie Jean VOICES : Yolande Moreau, Jade Van den Boom, Richard Van den Boom, Valentine Van den Boom VOICE RECORDER : Guillaume Bessonat SETS MANAGER : Jean-Marc Ogier SETS : Hugues Brière, Fabienne Collet, Martine Guérin, Marion Le Guillou, Sarah Van den Boom SETS INTERNS : Elina Barbeau, Constance David, Jade Van Den Boom, Valentine Van Den Boom, Kristina Vorobyeva SET PREPARATION : Fabienne Collet PUPPETS : David Roussel, Anna Deschamps, Sarah Van den Boom PUPPETS INTERN : Kristina Vorobyeva COSTUMES : Jade Van Den Boom, Sarah Van den Boom STOPMOTION ANIMATION : Benjamin Botella, Gilles Coirier, Marion Le Guillou, Souad Wedell 2D ANIMATION : Gilles Cuvelier, Thomas Machart COMPOSITING : Gilles Cuvelier, Rodolphe Dubreuil, Thomas Machart, Matthieu Millot COLOUR GRADING : Marie Gascoin MUSIC : Pierre Caillet MUSIC RECORDING AND MIX : Thomas Vingtrinier MUSICIANS : Eric Lacrouts (violin 1), Ludovic Balla (violin 2), , Cécile Grassi (viola), Cyrille Lacrouts (cello), Franck Sibold (bassoon), Yohan Couix (flute) SOUND DESIGN : Yan Volsy FOLEY : Daniel Gries INGÉNIEUR DU SON BRUITAGES : Matthieu Langlet MIX : Sébastien Cabour RECORDER FRESNOY : Martin Delzescaux PRODUCERS PAPY3D : Richard Van Den Boom, Sarah Van Den Boom PRODUCTION ASSISTANT PAPY3D : Alice Mallaroni PRODUCERS JPL FILMS : Jean-François Bigot, Camille Raulo PRODUCTION ASSISTANT JPL FILMS : Marie Cousin PRODUCTION INTERN JPL FILMS : Morgane Le Nan PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING JPL FILMS : Cécilia Bouteloup, Isabelle Geffroy STUDIO ANIMATION VOLUME : JPL Films STUDIO ANIMATION 2D : Train-Train VOICE RECORDING STUDIO : Lylo MUSIC RECORDING STUDIO : Sequenza FOLEY RECORDING STUDIO : Yellow Cab SOUND MIX STUDIO : Le Fresnoy IMAGE POST-PRODUCTION STUDIO : Digital Cut SUPPORTED BY : le CNC, la Région Bretagne, Pictanovo - région Hauts de France, France 3, la Procirep et l’Angoa, la Maison du Film Court et la Sacem Reproduced on this channel with the permission of the filmmakers.