Preview: This Magnificent Cake! by Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels

The new stop-motion effort of Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels after Oh, Willy [watch it here] is a 44-minute, mid-length film with another appropriate, exclamation, mark.

This Magnificent Cake! (Ce Magnifique Gâteau! ) is a 44-minute mid-length animated anthology film produced by Beast Animation (Belgium) in co-production with Vivement Lundi ! (France) and Pedri Animation (The Netherlands).

It is set in colonial Africa in the late 19th century. It tells the stories of 5 different characters: a troubled king, a middle-aged Pygmy working in a luxury hotel, a failed businessman on an expedition, a lost porter, and a young army deserter. 

6 years in the making, the film further enhnaces the felted wool technique of Oh, Willy...  Shooting lasted for 8 months (Beast Animation Studios), while the puppets and sets were made at Personne n'est parfait ! in Bretagne, France. 

Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels seem to continue their warm absurdity over a variety of narrative material. The film premiered at the recent at the festive 50th anniversary Directors' Fortnight in Cannes, and now screens both at Animafest Zagreb official competition (feature film), and Annecy Festival (Special Screening Event, Official Selection)

Ce Magnifique Gâteau! was written, directed and edited by Emma De Swaef and Marc James Roels. Animation was carried out by Elodie Ponçon, Patricia Sourdès, Iris Alexandre, Mirjam Plettinx, and Andreas De Ridder. Production design was handled by Jean-Marc Ogier. The puppets were made by David Roussel, David Thomasse, and Anna Deschamps. The main voice cast includes Jan Decleir (The Memory of a Killer, Daens), Gaston Motambe, Wim Willaert (When the Sea Rises, Le Ciel Flamand), Goua Grovogui, Sébastien Dewaele (Cargo), and Angelo Tijssens. The film is Dutch, French, Aka, and Malinke spoken.

The film was produced by Beast Animation (Belgium) in co-production with Vivement Lundi ! (France) and Pedri Animation (The Netherlands), with the participation of ARTE France and the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (aide au programme). It is supported by the Flemish Audiovisual Fund VAF, the Tax Shelter programme of the Belgian Federal Government, the Région Bretagne in partnership with CNC, the Netherlands Film Fund, Procirep, and Angoa.