Asro
By Kévin Giraud | July 1, 2026
In the landscape of modern European animation, few projects carry the weight of expectation—or the sheer artistic audacity—of Ogresse. A mesmerizing tapestry of jazz, embroidery, illustration, and narrative folklore, the feature film is currently transitioning from a visionary concept into a landmark production. Co-directed by three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Cécile McLorin Salvant and acclaimed Belgian filmmaker Lia Bertels, Ogresse is poised to challenge the boundaries of what an animated fairy tale can represent.
The project recently took center stage at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where the creative team held a pivotal work-in-progress session at the Salle Pierre Lamy. As the film moves into full production, it has become the focal point of a massive international collaboration, signaling a new chapter in cross-disciplinary storytelling.
The Genesis of a Modern Myth: Main Facts
At its core, Ogresse is a deeply personal odyssey. Born from the bedtime stories that haunted and fascinated Cécile McLorin Salvant in her youth, the project evolved from a musical album into a sprawling, multi-modal animated feature.
The story centers on a Black ogresse, a figure reclaimed and reimagined through the lens of early 20th-century vaudeville and the complex history of performance art. The creative team has carefully constructed a visual language that relies on "naïve" artistic styles—deliberately simplified designs that grant animators the freedom to inject depth, emotion, and subtle movement without the constraints of rigid realism.
The production is a logistical feat, involving a five-way co-production pipeline spanning France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada. With Miyu Productions serving as the engine room in Paris and Angoulême, the project has attracted key players including Embuscade Films (Canada), Helium Films (Switzerland), and Umedia (Belgium).
A Chronological Evolution
The path to the screen for Ogresse has been as rhythmic as the jazz score that underpins it.
- 2019: The initial seeds were sown when Lia Bertels pitched the project at the Annecy Festival. This early iteration caught the immediate attention of Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, founder of Miyu Productions.
- 2020–2021: The onset of the global pandemic forced a temporary deceleration in development, though the creative team—Salvant and Bertels—continued to refine the narrative and visual boards.
- 2022: The team reconnected with newfound momentum. By this time, Salvant had transformed her original concept into a live concert experience, touring internationally with jazz artist Darcy James Argue. This live success provided the "proof of concept" for the film’s narrative power.
- 2023–2024: Ogresse returned to the festival circuit, including a high-profile Mifa feature pitch and a memorable presentation at Cartoon Movie, where Salvant’s a cappella performance of the film’s central song left producers and industry veterans spellbound.
- 2026: The project officially enters the final stages of pre-production, with the team now coordinating a complex international pipeline.
Artistic Synthesis: Weaving Worlds
One of the most striking aspects of Ogresse is its visual philosophy. The directors have actively moved away from the slick, hyper-realistic aesthetics of major studio animation in favor of a textured, tactile approach.
The Influence of Haitian and Black Art
Salvant, drawing on her diverse Haitian, American, and French heritage, has infused the film with a specific aesthetic lineage. The team pays direct homage to the works of Haitian masters:
- Gérard Fortuné: Whose raw, expressive paintings provided the initial "soul" for the character of the Ogresse.
- Frantz Zéphirin: A source of inspiration for the film’s intricate, elaborate framing and composition.
- Myrlande Constant: Known for her extraordinary cloth flags and beadwork, Constant’s influence is present in the film’s textural ambition.
For the character design of the lead protagonist, the team turned to the contemporary brilliance of Kerry James Marshall. Marshall’s use of deep, silhouette-like Black figures offered the directors a blueprint for a protagonist who carries both a physical and symbolic weight.
The Stop-Motion Experiment
Perhaps the most daring choice in the production is the inclusion of stop-motion sequences designed to mirror the textures of embroidery and Vodou flags. While initially planned as a larger portion of the film, these segments have been distilled into a thematic device. These sequences serve to represent the "inner world" of the characters—specifically, the internal landscape of the male suitor attempting to seduce the Ogresse. By using the tactile, physical medium of beadwork-inspired animation, the directors bridge the gap between the film’s fairy-tale exterior and its emotional core.
The Production Pipeline: Official Perspectives
During the Annecy work-in-progress session, the key contributors offered insight into the challenges of maintaining a singular artistic vision across multiple borders.
Cécile McLorin Salvant, speaking from New York, emphasized the importance of the project’s origins: "I always envisioned Ogresse as an animated feature. Jazz and U.S. animation share origins in the vaudeville era—it felt necessary to reclaim the space for a Black ogresse. Finding the right partners was about finding people who understood that this wasn’t just a story, but a cultural dialogue."
Lia Bertels reflected on the collaboration: "Our connection was immediate. We exchanged drawings and shared a vision of an eco-conscious, female-driven narrative. The simplicity of our designs is our greatest strength; it allows us to focus on the subtleties of performance rather than technical gymnastics."
Julien De Man, the project’s art director—whose previous work includes The Red Turtle and Ghost Cat Anzu—described the challenge of orchestration: "My role was to bring everything into a cohesive visual language. We created a massive, central board that organized our color scripts, sets, and lighting. We wanted to preserve the freshness of the original drawings while ensuring the film could sustain its intensity over a full feature length."
Tanguy Olivier, head of production, highlighted the logistical complexity: "We are balancing a Belgian, Swiss, Canadian, and French pipeline. The challenge is distributing this work without losing the soul of the project. With the backing of partners like Claude Barras and the support of Kinology for international sales, we are in a strong position to redefine the boundaries of the genre."
Implications for the Future of Animation
The arrival of Ogresse represents a shift in the animation industry. It is a film that refuses to adhere to the standard "three-act structure" of corporate animation, opting instead for a rhythm dictated by color chapters and musical cues.
Aesthetic Disruption
By prioritizing the "naïve" style and integrating embroidery-inspired stop-motion, Ogresse challenges the assumption that big-budget animation must be digitally perfect. Instead, it argues for the importance of "imperfection" and the hand-crafted touch, positioning the film as a successor to European art-house hits like The Red Turtle.
Cultural Representation
The project is significant for its reclamation of the "ogre" trope, specifically regarding the history of minstrelsy and the representation of Black women in folklore. By placing a Black woman at the center of a musical fairy tale, and grounding that story in Haitian artistic traditions, the production serves as a powerful statement of cultural identity.
A Model for International Co-Production
Finally, the successful assembly of a five-nation co-production team provides a template for future independent features. By leveraging private U.S. foundation support alongside European public funding, Ogresse has managed to bypass traditional studio interference, maintaining total creative autonomy.
As the production team moves into the final stages of the pipeline in Brussels and Paris, the industry will be watching closely. If Ogresse succeeds in translating its musical and visual ambition to the screen, it will not only be a triumph for its directors but a transformative moment for international animation, proving that when art leads the process, the story follows with unparalleled depth.
Raul Delapena Setiawan
Laily UPN
