Annecy Opener ‘Sirocco and the Kingdom of Air Streams,’ as Seen by Director Benoit Chieux: ‘The Best Way to Respect Children is To Follow My Instincts’

variety.com:

Marta Balaga Lille-born filmmaker Benoît Chieux has been coming to Annecy for 30 years. This year, to his own amazement, he is opening the festival with “Sirocco and the Kingdom of Air Streams.”  “It’s an incredible surprise and a huge honor.

Today’s competition [in animation] is very tough and there are so many high-quality feature films out there,” he says, calling the event “an exceptionally rich place to meet and discover new things.” In “Sirocco,” two sisters, Juliette and Carmen, discover a secret passage to the world of their favorite book, the Kingdom of Air Streams.

Transformed into cats and separated from each other, they will have to find their way back and – with the help of talented singer Selma – confront the mysterious Sirocco, the master of winds and storms. “His face is half-hidden in order to draw the viewer’s attention.

In a spectacular film like this one, it’s important to keep some shadows and not show just about everything. The only way to find out who is behind that scarf is to go and see the film!,” he enthuses. “Sirocco” is produced by Ron Dyens (Sacrebleu Productions), Gregory Zalcman (Take Five) and Cilvy Aupin (Ciel de Paris).