Caribbean Animation and Cultural Identity

Speaker 1 0:03

Hello everyone , welcome to another episode of Carry On Friends , the Caribbean American podcast , friends . I am so excited because I'm having a first on the podcast , so I'm not going to butcher his name but his Alain or Alan in English , because he's from French Caribbean country of Martinique . It's a first of the podcast , so welcome to the podcast . How are you Alain or Alan ? But you know .

Speaker 2 0:31

Good afternoon , carrie Ann , and thank you , thank you . Thank you very much for having me and I'm really great today and it's a good day .

Speaker 1 0:42

So why don't you tell the community friends a little bit more about who you are ? So we've established here from Martinique , so tell them a little bit about what you do .

Speaker 2 0:51

So I'm a Martinican director , so I'm making animation film and initially my job is to go in studios and animate 3D or 2D characters in film , advertising , short film , any type of 3D content . So initially that's my work . But because I made most of my career here in Martinique , whereas industry is not developed , you have to do much more than that . So that brought me to create entire film by myself . So initially it was short films and then it became longer , and right now I can produce feature films and that's that's how I live , so that's that's what I do most of the time .

Speaker 1 1:51

I am so excited , friends , because I have previews of these animations and , as I was telling Alan , before we hit record , I was blown away . Not blown away because like a Caribbean person could do this , but blown away was because , yeah , a Caribbean person did this . And so , before we get into the work , you do tell me a little bit about what it was like growing up in Martinique . If you share some of that experience with the audience , that would be wonderful .

Speaker 2 2:20

Growing up in Martinique was well , it's a Caribbean , so it was a really nice place . I grew up in the beginning of the 80s , so no technology , nothing like that . Everybody agreed and we didn't have the comfort that we have now . So it was really a nearer where in your mind you had to go really far if you wanted to to get somewhere . So that that shaped a bit what I would do later .

Speaker 2 2:57

And when I was six I started out stuttering very , very much and I couldn't speak well at all and that pushed me to develop a really internal world and I started writing and drawing stories . So story became comics , books , and after that I wanted to create scenarios for for film . That was also the development of computer . So the first computer appears and it was really fascinating to see that happening . And when I reached the age of 17 , there was a school in France that would teach people how to to create freely art . But back in the day free , freely art was not like today , because the first film from Pixar was not made yet , so it was really gambling , but it was fascinating . Initially I wanted to create stories in video games , so I I saw , yeah , that that is interesting . That is what I would want to do , and that's how we start .

Speaker 1 4:22

Wonderful . You know I love that you said because of your stuttering , that really helped you to be a little bit more creative and it's a really good example that , while we want to support our children if they have like stuttering , that also could be an opportunity for them to develop some other skill that we wouldn't know that they could . So , growing up in Martinique , I guess in the 80s , did you have any interaction with , like the Anglo Caribbean or Spanish Caribbean . What was your interaction with the other cultures within the region ?

Speaker 2 5:00

My father was from Guadalupe . I was more with my mother , who is in Martinique . Once or twice I've been going to St Clutia and I remember that I've been spending holy days in Grenada when I was 11 . I did not connect enough and that was not me who went and enjoyed as a culture , because I was not speaking English , and that was really different from now . That was my only interaction with the English word because Martinique was really on itself , not self-sufficient , but they were not trying to connect with the rest of the Caribbean like they do today .

Speaker 1 5:51

And why didn't they want to connect with the other Caribbean at the time ?

Speaker 2 5:56

colonization . The mindset was really we want to be French , we want to be continental French people and everything in the society was pushing towards that . So the African and Caribbean aspect was completely taken away . It was not seen as a way to develop yourself . Times change a lot , but back in the day if you were connecting with the sculpture it was because in the family they were already international , they had the mindset . But generally speaking it was really we are French , let's stay French . And let's look at this place , 8,000 kilometers , but every neighboring island , no , we completely ignore them .

Speaker 1 6:53

That's interesting . What changed ? Why now that's not the predominant view anymore ?

Speaker 2 7:00

It became less a relationship between Martinique and France , it became more a relationship with France and Europe and all the other European countries . So the mindset changed . We realized that it was not too nation anymore , it was really an ensemble of countries . And in France the mindset was different too , because now that the border were opened , france was forced to open themselves to . So it kind of changed a lot of things and at the same time , this opening a lot of people to connect with their past history .

Speaker 2 7:48

And for me , I had to relearn all my history , because I learned French history , french geography that's all I learned at school . But I had to learn the history of Africa , what happened in Egypt before all that , to be able to give meaning to what was happening around me . Because when I studied , when I start looking for a job , I realized , oh , there's a lot of racism , but that's not something that you were feeling in Martinique back in the day , because we were seen as complete French people . There was no difference . So the shock was really hard and I wanted to know why . I knew what was racism . But knowing about the basis , knowing the history , that really opened my mind and this connection to my history , to my ancestry that I did . It was really generational , so a lot of people did the same and that completely changed the discourse and the mindset of everybody .

Speaker 1 8:59

Yes , In addition to seeing yourselves as French , even though you were a French department , there are still mostly black people on Martinique , right ? So it's not until you get out of that context you're , you're like , wow , all right , you know what's what's happening here . So , segueing to animation , how much of this relearning of history incorporated in the work that you do , Because I've seen a couple titles of your things so I just wanted to get like how does this impact your creative work ?

Speaker 2 9:40

The first thing when I start to figure out what kind of story I could tell was to establish a difference between Martinican people and French people . French people don't have to dub to their school , they don't have to dub their system , they don't have to relearn what I did . No French people in the continent have done that and still today they're not doing that because they are learning their own world . But that's not the case . So that shaped the way I would create stories . So I wanted to tell about characters who were rediscovering their world , who were exploring things .

Exploring Martinican Philosophy Through Animation

Speaker 2 10:24

I was really into stories where things are hidden , but suddenly we discover , we find out the reality about what's happening and at the same time , deeply the philosophy .

Speaker 2 10:41

Well , in France it's seen as a French thing . We don't speak about Martinican philosophy In France . It doesn't exist and it doesn't make sense , which means that in Martinique we haven't been at the stage where we question our reality and we try to make sense of it . In reality we did , but it's not taught . So I wanted to incorporate this aspect in my stories too , because in Martinique , this concept of essentialism and existentialism , the fight between those two concepts , is everywhere , in everything we do every single day . And when I realized that it was like that , I really wanted to incorporate this in the story , but to give it a name , for people to realize that in Martinique we are not just a culture that came out of nowhere . We have a history and there are things that are happening here and we need to understand the concept , we need to understand philosophically what's happening and where do we stand in all this .

Speaker 1 11:59

That is . I don't want to say it's heavy , but it's a lot to kind of take in , and from a fellow Caribbean person , but not necessarily living the Martinican experience , it's sometimes hard to kind of relate without feeling like you're passing judgment . So how have you created these films to get your fellow Martinicans to understand themselves or start having more conversations about their existence or their essentialism or the existentialism that you are conveying in your ? And I don't want people to think that this is what your animation is about . Right , but they're basically from an entertainment standpoint , they're just breadcrumbs , they're not the entire focus of your film . So I guess my simplified question is has anyone picked up on these little breadcrumbs or Easter eggs that you're putting in your animation ?

Speaker 2 12:54

Yes , people have been able to connect with the story , to understand that this is them . For some people it was really a discovery because they were not seeing things like that in Martinique . For some people it has been a complete change . I've learned later that they completely changed the life of some other people . They completely changed their destiny based on this film .

Speaker 2 13:21

After the viewing of my first feature film , those concepts were really more important in my first film because it was using science fiction to tell black slavery . It was really a new concept for everybody . They were not seeing themselves this way In Martinique . We were not doing anything . Science fiction . Science fiction was reserved for the North , for European countries , developed countries , but not Martinique . That was quite a shock , but people understood this concept . I think that even to this day they keep discovering things in the stories that I create . I just wanted to say that when I started my career in Martinique , most of the demand was about a PSA and a film for helping people . My first short film was a film to help people to understand AIDS and protect themselves . After that I had to make a film about agoraphobia . Without wanting , martinique shaped me to try to find a solution to a social problem through animation . The idea was to create something entertaining but , at the same time , something that could give us some insight , some solutions , some direction about a problem that we were experiencing for real .

Speaker 1 15:06

Thank you for that . Just to name it in this episode was the first film that you did . Was that the Battle Dream Chronicle ? Yes , I saw that , and then I saw the trailer to your new one that you have coming out . Why don't you tell a little bit more about you starting your company ? You tell me the name because I don't want to pronounce it wrong your company , some of the challenges that you have around creating it . Are you mostly filming in Martinique ?

Speaker 2 15:41

Yes , completely Initially that was not my goal , but after that that became something I was proud of because we didn't have anything to be able to do that . When I created my company , I created a first company that was still alive for nine years Back in the day , in 2001, . It was called Dream Event Pictures this company that would shape what I do later . It was mostly about creating animation for non-profit association . In the beginning , the most difficult was to find people to know me , because I was unknown . Not only that , people were not really conceptualizing that an animation film could be done in Martinique . I had to look for job and contract while educating the clients about what can be done or not . Thankfully , those clients were already used to work with live-action directors . So I just told them if you work with me , you are going to have a film that can reach kids too , so that may be interesting if you want to give children some knowledge that you want to share . Not every client wanted to do that , but most of them wanted to .

Speaker 2 17:20

I was lacking in a lot of things , because when you go to a computer graphics school , you are taught how to be a part of a studio , a part of a factory . So the idea is that you have to do one thing and become an expert in this thing , not being a generalist In Martinique , it's completely the country . So I had to learn a lot of things that I was not good at and some of those things I did not like , but I had to learn . I had to learn things that I would never think that I would do , for example , accounting . I remember the hell when I had to create my first business plan , and especially when you are an artist , this is really that side of the brain is not like .

Speaker 1 18:11

It's like wait a minute . What's happening here ? You'll completely get it .

Speaker 2 18:17

So I learned how to do that . I was full of dream and I wanted to work with other people too , so I met other people . We started working together . Then I realized that even in a group there is another dynamic . But it's not that easy when you work in a group , because everybody has life and you have to take this into consideration . Sometimes , when you work in a group , it's easier to get something done , but at the same time the group can clash really fast and that can affect the project . So you have to get other people to be the middleman . I really learned a lot of things In Martinique .

Speaker 2 19:04

There was From 2000 to 2010, . We went from the franc that was the currency of France to the euro , and what happened is that the inflation of the euro was terrible , so price exploded . It was One euro was six francs . People were not at ease with the multiplication by six , so they multiplied by ten and that makes everything explode . By 2009 , everything stopped in the island . There was a big strike and that was for this price , because the price had to go down . So all the island stopped until the price would go down . Spoiler alert . They didn't go down , they multiplied , but that destroyed .

Speaker 2 20:00

I believe that back in the day , probably 5,000 or 10,000 companies went bankrupt . After that , we stayed one month without activity in the entire island . After that , a lot of companies stopped , they went bankrupt and myself I didn't have clients anymore because most of my clients went bankrupt . So I closed the company and at the same time , I was working on a project my first feature film and I decided to continue to keep working on it and before creating my second company , I completed this film . So my second company was created in 2016 . And during that time , in 2005 , I also created a non-profit organization to help me and to help anybody to learn animation if they want some help . So that allowed me to stay afloat and to be able to reach the level I am now , so can your non-profit teach me animation .

Speaker 2 21:12

It was the idea . Yes , I taught animation to quite a certain number of people . In the beginning I had quite a certain number of people who learned animation , but later , more and more , it became people who came just for a little part . So I want to learn Photoshop , or I want to learn this , or I want to learn that , and today I don't teach anymore . The demand is different . Right now it's much more schools that ask me to make projects with them . So I work with another non-profit organization that is called Cinevue and with that we are going into schools and a group of young people to teach them how to create stories .

Speaker 1 22:01

No audience , I don't know if you are following , but look at this or listen to this amazing full circle , because when you were growing up , the idea of animation in Martinique was foreign .

Speaker 1 22:16

They were like you cannot do this . And you did it , and now you're teaching the next generation animation . So I want to applaud you for being just ahead of the time and just birthing or grooming the next generation of children or young people who can see what's possible , learning this new skill , and that you're there to say , yeah , even in Martinique , this very small landmass , we can do amazing things . And I think that is one of the important lessons that we have to learn , because a lot of times we think , because we are from a small place , that we are insignificant or we don't have everything that we need to compete on a larger stage , or just everything that you're doing . So , shifting now to your successes a little bit , what's the reception like for your films ? How are they generating revenue ? I'm fasting in your business . I know the answer , but I want you to tell the audience . So how are the films doing , not just in Martinique , but just globally ?

Speaker 2 23:31

Let's say that there was a difference between the way it's received locally , nationally and internationally . So the international reception is really great . People really love the concept and they connect immediately with the story . But of course internationalism is huge . So in cinema you need to be in the right place if you want to get the opportunities . So I received the praise but I was not yet able to catch those opportunities . For international . Now for national .

Speaker 2 24:12

At the national level silence , sheer , silence . Friends don't want to talk about that , but they willingly block every possibility for me to screen the film or to distribute it . Or I get offers that are like give your film for free and we are going to decide if we're showing it or not . So in France they really see me as an anomaly . Hopefully it's going to change in the future , but for now it's the anomaly and in Martinique the reception is really great . It could be bigger because the people who can push the film , for example the theaters they could push things more , but everybody is concentrated over American films , films that make money . So I am making indie films and it's not something that is as interesting as Fast and Furious , for example , but I connect with people and things are getting really , really better . That's given me the opportunity to find out that there is an animation industry that is already existing in the Caribbean , with Trinidad and Jamaica , and I could see what they do when I also saw that in Cuba . Cuba has already made seven animated feature films since 1975 . So that was a way for me to discover the Caribbean . Everybody loves the film and it's really different from France Internationally . I was surprised because I was not expecting the film to touch people First internationally . I was expecting something more closer to home .

Speaker 2 26:20

So how much the film made ? A film like Battery Chronicle made around 100,000 euros . For me , it did this in six years . So with Opal I was in the process of compressing this time , so I developed program and plugins . So I had to learn how to code in order to multiply my speed and make me capable of creating faster , in order to be able to make money faster . And it is working . Because Battery Chronicle , I took seven years . To create Battery Chronicle and Opal , I took two years , and lately I'm still upgrading the tools that I had and I believe that I can reduce this to 18 months .

Speaker 1 27:22

Wonderful and so congratulations . Right , we all have to start somewhere because , like you said , you know you can see the progression and the growth right , and I know that you have a subscription to watch your film . So if anyone is interested , we'll definitely drop that in the show notes and support it . It's a nominal fee . So go and subscribe and watch it and you know , I think it's an amazing thing . So , as we wrap up , what are you looking forward to ? What's the next creative product ? I know you just finished one and I know , as artists , you know that everybody's asking you just wrap up this one . You just finished Opaul . Why are you asking me about another one ? I'm also creative because there's always many more in the brain . There's always many more in the brain , but I don't want you to put a you know flag in the sand . But like , what are you looking forward to in terms of the next step , the next phase of your growth ?

Speaker 2 28:31

When I , when I prepared the bath , the journey , I prepared 10 feature film projects , so I made two . That's a lot of a lot to come . Right now I have started two new animated feature film . That probably is . The first is probably for the end of 2024 . And the second probably for 2025 or 2026 . And I've been contacted and contracted by a studio in Panama for making an animation thing too . This is for 2027 . And so for now , those are the projects that are coming .

Speaker 1 29:23

Congratulations and I'm excited for you .

Social Media and Online Presence

Speaker 1 29:26

So are you on social media and where can people find you on social media ?

Speaker 2 29:32

Yes , I'm on social media . In Facebook , Alain Bidar or Pat Godd , film P-A-G-O-D , or there's Opaul , there's Battle Room . There's one page for both film . Also in Instagram , Alain Bidar simply , and there's also there's a website that is more presentation for what I do is Alain Bidarcom . So , Alain , you can write it with an I or without an I , it's work . Both ways lead to the same website . So that's where you can find me .

Speaker 1 30:14

Wonderful and I'll drop all the links in the show notes and all the ways that they could consume your projects and support you . So thank you so much for being on the podcast . I enjoyed having this conversation , learning about your experience and the work you do and , as I love to say at the end of every episode , walk good .