The Old Lady and the Pigeons
The old lady and the pigeons is an animated short film by Sylvain Chomet from the year 1997. He was born in the French- Canadian -Belgian- British co-production.
Action
In Paris, a thick tourist family photographed in front of the Eiffel Tower. As the severely obese son of the family drops a bag of popcorn, takes an extremely emaciated gendarme in the bag, before looking into the distance. He goes to the park where he sees fat pigeons who strive all in one place. Here an old woman feeding the birds with little tartlets. The policeman runs the mouth water. At night he dreams that the old woman brings a suckling pig to the park and he begins to eat like a dove on the pig before it is picked from life-sized pigeons to death. He wakes up screaming, but the dream has brought him an idea.
The next day he follows the woman to her apartment. The following night, he builds from the plumage of a real dove, which had fallen far from the apartment of the woman's feet, a giant pigeon head, and puts gloves on springs. He goes to the apartment of the old woman who sees him as a dove, and begins to feed. Every day is the lanky policeman now to the old woman met in the hallway of a neighbor and eats at the old woman fed up. He is getting fatter, until it barely fit through the doors. At Christmas, he fed as usual for the woman, but noted that it is becoming increasingly drunk. She has the food mixed with whiskey. In an adjoining room, the man sees how the old woman drags a huge poultry shears. At her side is the neighbor who the man is seen every day in the hallway - she's dressed as a cat and is regarded by the old woman as a pet. The man wants to escape, but has the old woman closed the door. The woman makes the poultry shears hunt for the man who jumps at the end of the window and can drag through the snow back home.
A tourist video shows the robbers later spindly; he pecks on with the pigeons near the Eiffel tower grains.
Production
Chomet had first worked after graduating from the Angueleme in London in 1987 as a comic book and commercial artist and had returned to France in 1990. At the Festival d' Annecy animation short animated film Creature Comforts impressed him so much that he started working on his debut film La vieille dame et les pigeons began in 1991, he finally graduated in 1996. The background drawings of the film come from Nicolas de Crécy, with Chomet had studied.
Awards
At the Festival d' Annecy animation film the Cristal d' Annecy received in 1997. He also won the 1997 BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film, and received a Genie Award for Best Animated Short Film. The film won the Grand Prix at the World Animation Celebration.
The old lady and the pigeons was nominated for an Oscar in the category " Best Animated Short Film " nominated in 1998, but could not prevail against Geri 's Game itself. The film was nominated for a 1998 César Award for Best Short Film. On the Hiroshima International Animation Festival was nominated for a Grand Prix The old lady and the pigeons.