DMonths of interview requests by emails, messages – all networks combined -, calls… In vain. So when we learned that Émilie Tronche, former student of the School of Animation Cinema Professions (Emca), rue de la Charente, was, on Wednesday December 11, passing through Angoulême – from which she moved in September to Paris – the opportunity was too good.
The editorial team advises you
An appointment is made, finally. No more than fifteen minutes before the artist joined the “Young Talents” jury of the Comic Strip Festival which asked her for its next edition. The young woman’s time has been numbered since the start of her animated series “Samuel”, which she directed, wrote and dubbed. A sort of dive into the diary of a ten-year-old boy in fifth grade, secretly in love with another student.
“I felt like I was stuck in a washing machine. »
First broadcast confidentially on social networks, the program was spotted by Arte.tv. Since its release on the platform last March, season 1 – 21 episodes of two to six minutes – has accumulated more than 40 million views including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Dizzying figures which have decided the Franco-German channel to broadcast “Samuel” on its antenna from Monday to Friday at 8:50 p.m., starting this Monday, December 16. An end to the year in apotheosis, among multiple praises in the press, crowned with a distinction: the Personality of the Year Prize awarded by Écran Total, a leading professional media.
What memories do you have of Emca where you studied from 2015 to 2019?
Emilie Tronche. I loved this school. At the time when I was a student, I could be critical but with hindsight and nostalgia, I tell myself that she was perfect for me. It allowed me to experiment with lots of techniques, lots of films. To make a mistake too and it didn’t matter. There were no notes or exams, only workshops designed to test. It really is a school for learning without being covered up. And then life in Angoulême is very cool, very student-oriented. I was immersed in an environment of illustrations, comics and animated films. My apartment was crazy, a little below the cathedral, in the Saint-Martin district. I had a great view.
Was it an inspiring place?
Yes, that’s also where I wrote “Samuel” before it was animated in a studio in Angoumois. [Shan Too]. There is a kind of tranquility here. Angoulême is the kind of place where if you want to take a moment for yourself, it’s possible. The city is very well equipped with restaurants; I really like A La Cantonaise, Chez H. I also love the Lilosimages bookstore, Julien-Galon for the little croissants and the clothing store Le boudoir de Marguerite where I would love to return but I don’t have the time. That’s where I found my little things.
More than forty million views in less than a year. Were the success of “Samuel” and the media requests overwhelming?
There was a moment when it was quite intense. I felt like I was stuck in a washing machine. At the same time, I wanted to keep my feet on the ground. I knew that after “Samuel”, I was going to want to tell other things, to make new films. I wanted to keep my mind calm. There, I begin to find inspiration.
Is this sudden notoriety a barrier to writing?
It’s especially the fact of having completed a big project on which we worked non-stop for three years. And suddenly, everything stops and we say to ourselves “Okay, what do I do now? » Responding to the media takes a lot of time and I needed to have some time for myself. Just to do nothing and think is important. Those around me told me: “You have to cut it. » At one point, I was constantly on my phone and I didn’t want to fall into that addiction.
What are your projects?
There are several but I don’t know yet what I can announce. I’m working on a comic book around the universe of “Samuel” about one of the characters from the series.
“His quality of expression was revealed after school”
Serge Élissalde, former director of Emca, recognizes this: he had not detected qualities in Émilie Tronche that would suggest such a start to her career. “She was quite brilliant, hardworking but her films were strange, very personal,” says the former manager. His quality of expression and his simplicity really showed themselves after school. It surprised me and at the same time I was delighted. When ‘Samuel’ was broadcast on social networks, I wrote to Émilie that it was the most astonishing series I had seen in a long time. »
