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Peak Performance Writer-director Patrick Imbert scales the heights with his stunning animated feature The Summit of the Gods.
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reacherous and historic alpinism has fascinated both documentary filmmakers and fiction directors for decades. But perhaps, one of the most effective and nail-biting depictions of the sport of mountaineering is the new FrenchLuxembourg animated feature The Summit of the Gods. The exquisitely designed and crafted project, which is directed and cowritten by Patrick Imbert (The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales) debuted at the Cannes Festival in June and will premiere on Netflix this month. Based on the acclaimed manga by Jirô Taniguchi, the film centers on the story of Habu Jôji, an outcast mountaineer with a tragic past, and Fukamachi Makoto, a journalist bent on discovering the truth about George Mallory’s historic 1924 Everest climb. (The manga was also the basis of a popular 2016 live-action movie directed by Hideyuki Hirayama.) In addition to Imbert, the feature has a truly impressive pedigree: It was co-written and produced by Jean-Charles Ostoréro, produced by Didier Brunner (The Triplets of Belleville), Damien Brunner (Wolfwalkers) and Stéphan Roelants (The Breadwinner). The project first came to Imbert’s attention as a proposal from the film’s producers. “At the time, I was working on The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales at Folivari studio and I was asked to do some preparatory drawings for the financing,” he tells us via email.
“They liked it, and as chance would have it, I was given gradually more and more responsibilities.”
No Drones Required The director says he used the animation medium to express the story in the best way possible. “I don’t know if animation lends itself to these kinds of images, but it is my means of expression, and I use it as such,” says Imbert. “For example, images in live features and documentaries are extremely precise, like breathtaking views from helicopters or drones that cannot be achieved in 2D animation. So, I did not want to put myself on the same level — but the goal was to play with the color, the light, the ‘false depth’ of field and, in general, we tried to be more suggestive than descriptive for the natural world.” “Taniguchi’s manga gives a lot of information, but nevertheless, it’s not a storyboard,” he points out. “We did a lot of research on Everest, and to be as accurate as possible, we asked mountaineers. It was necessary to make the questioning of Habu and Fukamachi during the climb understandable. At the end of the day, it’s close to the artistic process. All other things being said, when I am asked why I draw, I can only answer, ‘Because that’s what I love.’ And like for our two heroes, there is also a big feeling of loneliness when creating.” The helmer had to divert from Tanigu-
chi’s original designs because of the illustrations’ excruciating amount of detail. “It was impossible to reproduce in animation, given the number of drawings to be made, but by drawing a lighter line, the animators were able to focus on the faces, their expressions,” he explains. “Keeping a realistic line and choosing 2D required great precision; for example, on the positioning of the eyes. An eye that is slightly too low creates a feeling of discomfort for the viewer.”
He elaborates, “Taniguchi was very good at composition, but I used other frames. Without real depth like in 3D, we used everything at our disposal in 2D to recreate the feeling of immersion, like backlighting or rich compositions. We tried lots of ideas, and if it didn’t work, we would start over.” Imbert says the studio relied on modern, yet simple animation tools to create the clean, 2D visuals. “We used Toon Boom Storyboard and Animate to storyboard, then Toon Boom Har-
‘All other things being said, when I am asked why I draw, I can only answer, “Because that’s what I love.” And like for our two heroes, there is also a big feeling of loneliness when creating.’
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— Director Patrick Imbert
december 21
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