JUS D’ORANGE: An Interview with Alexandre Athané

Please tell us about the projects you worked on before making ‘JUS D’ORANGE’. How did you start, and how did you learn to make animations?

Ever since i can remember, I’ve always been passionate about movies. My first love was simply to go to the movies — and to understand how they were made. I’d buy books about prosthetic makeup, animatronics, special and visual effects… I was a very lonely kid growing up, and my other favorite thing was drawing. I always had a sketchbook with me.

Later on, as a young adult, I worked as an illustrator for the press and for record companies, and eventually on film sets. But I never lost my passion for cinema. One day, I decided to try out animation — and realized it was really just about making one drawing, and then another, and then another… And that’s how I directed my debut short animation ZOE MELODY, all by hand and on paper, the traditional way.

Once you do it once, you want to do it again. So I made my second short animation A SPACE IN TIME, and a few years later, this one: JUS D’ORANGE. And each time I think, I’ll do better next time…

I’m self-taught in animation — I learned through trial and error, curiosity, and countless hours of drawing. I never studied it formally, but I was always passionate about crafting images that carry emotion.

Over time, I developed a handmade, very personal approach. For me, animation is less about technique and more about feeling — how a line breathes, how time stretches or contracts to express something deeper.

Tell us about ‘JUS D’ORANGE’. How do you describe it?

JUS D’ORANGE is the story of Toni, an orange grower whose quiet life is shaken by the arrival of industrial cargo ships and a giant factory plant in his rural village. It’s a short animated film about memory, resilience, and a world in transformation.

Through Toni’s eyes, we witness the disappearance of a way of life — one deeply rooted in nature, manual labor, and the slow rhythm of time. But it’s also a story about tenderness, about the memories that sustain us, and the quiet beauty of things that are fading. It’s the story of a man searching for his place in a changing world.

The animation is inspired by my love for early hand-drawn techniques, blending traditional and modern tools — just like the story it tells. I wanted the film to feel like a fable: poetic, timeless, and full of warmth.

As Jacques Brinaire from La Nouvelle République wrote, JUS D’ORANGE is “a poetic, political, and visually sublime work.” Radio Illumini described it as “a whimsical tale about life within capitalism.”

To me, it’s a very personal film — one I poured my heart, and time, into. It’s also a promise I made to my co-screenwriter, Chloé Célérien, whose original idea was inspired by her own family of orange growers in Spain.

Through JUS D’ORANGE, we wanted to honor that world — its fragility, its beauty, and the people who live it every day. We wanted to honor our grandfathers, and those who are gone.

Please tell us about your favorite filmmakers.

I’m a huge fan of horror and genre films — especially 80s horror and fantasy. It might come as a surprise, but my movie heroes aren’t necessarily animators. I’ve always loved filmmakers like John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Joe Dante, Steven Spielberg, and of course, John Waters. Lately, one of my biggest cinematic experiences was watching The Substance by Coralie Fargeat — I saw it at 10pm after a long stretch without watching anything, and it absolutely blew me away. It made me so happy!

At the same time, I’m deeply moved by films like Bagdad Café by Percy Adlon or Orfeu Negro by Marcel Camus — and honestly, I could go on forever with a long list of favorites…

As for animation, I grew up with Le Roi et l’Oiseau by Paul Grimault, The Secret of NIMH by Don Bluth, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Disney, and Tale of Tales by Youri Norstein. My parents took me to the movies all the time — we didn’t have a TV at home, so the cinema became my true window to the world… and to my dreams.

If you were given a good budget, what would be your ideal project?

If I was given a good budget, my ideal project would be the one I’m currently writing — a story I’ve been obsessed with for years. It’s been living in my head for so long that I can see it clearly, almost frame by frame. I’ve made countless sketches and drawings just to release some of the images stuck in my mind.

It would be a feature-length film that blends everything I love — a mix of techniques, genres, live actors and animation, and a world straight out of my imagination. Without revealing too much, I can say it’s both a very personal story and a very universal one. I really hope I’ll get the chance to bring it to life. I’m definitely working at making it happen.

Describe how you would ensure that production is on schedule. What steps would you take?

First of all, I’m a very hard worker. Before anything else, I spend a lot of time alone making sure I truly know the story I want to tell — discussing it with my co-writer, refining it until it feels like something vital, something that flows in my veins. When the story is that deeply rooted in me, I can answer any question about it, which helps everyone on the team work more clearly and confidently.

I also create a lot of preparatory drawings, sketches, and storyboards — those are essential tools for communicating my vision to the team. Having all these materials ready helps make collaboration smoother and keeps everyone on the same page.

Finally, I believe production stays on schedule when you work with people you trust, respect, and genuinely enjoy collaborating with. Good communication, a shared sense of purpose — and just as importantly, finding pleasure and fun in the process — that’s what keeps things moving forward in the best possible way.

What was the hardest part of making ‘JUS D’ORANGE’.

The hardest part was time and patience, I’d say — and finding the right team to walk the journey with. I was lucky from the beginning to have my producers Maxime and Yoann behind me at all times, and my co-writer Chloé by my side. I always felt supported and believed in, which gave me strength. But I had made them a promise — that I would carry this film to the end — and I meant it.

Still, there were uncertain times — especially during Covid, when schedules fell apart and some collaborators had to step away. It was difficult, but in the end, it led us to the best collaborators and animators I could have hoped for in Poland: Dominika, Lukasz, and Grzegorz. Around the same time, I also met my music composer Ian, and was able to work again with my trusted sound team, Bruno and Samuel, who had worked on my previous films. And of course, I had the immense pleasure of collaborating with José Garcia, La Big Bertha, and Charlie — the amazing voice artists who brought my animated characters to life in the most beautiful way.

Also, I had the film visually in my head for so long before I actually started painting the backgrounds. The film took many years to come true. And strangely, thanks to Covid — while the world was a mess outside — I finally had the chance to sit down and pour all the background paintings I had stuck in my head onto paper and make them real. That’s just one example of how patient I had to be.

So yes, the hardest thing was holding onto that trust and patience — staying the course even when things felt fragile. I knew I would finish it, no matter what. But I have to admit, patience can be exhausting… and I’m probably the most patient and impatient person I know!

If possible, tell us about your next work. What plans do you have for your future work.

I mentioned the feature-length script I’m currently working on — it’s a project I’ve carried in my head for years, and I’m slowly bringing it to life. But I’m also writing another script for a short film, which I’m very excited about. I can’t say much yet about either, but they both feel very personal and creatively rich.

In the meantime, I continue working on visual effects and designing film titles through my studio, The Singing Plant Company — something I deeply enjoy doing, as it keeps me connected to other filmmakers while I prepare my next films. So yes, the future is full of drawings, stories, and hopefully, a few cinematic surprises!

Alexandre Athané, Paris, April 4, 2025 Instagram : @TheSingingPlant_Company