–Who is Arthur Chays?
I’m a live action director for the past 10 years. After a quick detour with a full feature documentary, I mainly work in web commercial and TV ads.
But there was aways something hitching in my head: Fiction. I’ve made a few short films (quite bad actually :)) when I was at school, but not in recent years.
And seen all those beautiful movies around me, in festival for exemple, I keep saying to myself, it’s time to start again !
That’s why I’ve decided one day to make Spoon, my first animated film; without a big knowledge of 3D animation. It was a challenge, as I made it alone, in about 8 days, but at the end it gives a meaning to my life. And being selected and awarded in 8 and Hal was such an overwhelming feeling. I don’t know why I waited so long to come back to narrative films…
–What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
I always loved watching making of, trying to understand how movies where made. And then, I had the chance to live in the 90s and 20s, a fantastic time for movies. I spend my youth watching amazing American movies of this era (Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas, Zemeckis, Cameron, Kubrick…) and felt in love, like many, with Pixar’s films. I’ve always lived animated film, form the Disney era, but Pixar was a game changer for me. I love new technology, and was amazed that you can gives emotion with a computer generated film… I kept this in myself for 20 years, and know it’s time to do my part…
–Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?
Absolutely, cinema can lead you to think differently, to exchange with people about society of political topic, and, as opposed to documentaries, makes you dream. Cinema is a proposition of what the world is, and more important, what the world can be.
That’s why it’s important to go to theater, and not only to watch films on your own at home. The power of a theater is manly being together. And on this trouble era, I think it’s very important.
–What would you change in the world?
Big question 🙂 I will not say everything, as there are a lot of Wonderfull things happening. People keep surprising me. But for me the main concern is poverty. I cannot accept those disparities between rich countries, and poor ones in 2022.
I’m sometimes ashamed to win money, as one tier of the planet is starving. To be honest, one of my goal, is to win a lot of money with my art, to be able to change things, and gives back everything I can to help.
And making more movies about this issue, as many are doing, to keep spreading that message.
–Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?
As we can see right know, the film industry is already changing, with the rise of GAFA (apple, amazon, Netflix…), that are taking place of traditional studios. Today and by extension tomorrow, film are not longer limited to one medium. It can exist everywhere, in theater, in VOD, on instagram, in the meta verse…
I don’t really exactly know what the film industry will become, but I can feel that we are at a crossroad between big companies producing films and independents creators gaining power throughout alternative platforms.
Make me thing a lot to the 50s to 70s era, when studio were extremely powerful, but some renegade where trying to disrupt the system (again Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas, Zemeckis, Cameron…).
The power will shift one day to young and talented creators. That’s why festivals are important, that’s why creativity and freedom are mandatory. When I see all talents around me, and festival like yours, I’m sure future will be amazing.
