Legendary Filmmaker Michel Ocelot Celebrated in Princeton and New York

Often described as the “modern father of French animation,” Michel Ocelot has engaged audiences of francophones, francophiles, and cinephiles through his many appearances in cultural and educational institutions. Reflecting on his early years in Guinea-Conakry, where his father served as a school superintendent, Ocelot then offered each audience rare insights into his artistic trajectory, from his African childhood in the 1940s to his emergence as a major animator in Paris.  

Ocelot was invited and accompanied by Yassine Ait Ali, PhD candidate in Princeton University’s Department of French & Italian and founding director of the Princeton French Film Festival (PFFF), to close the 2026 edition of this rapidly growing cultural event, which marks the fourth edition of the festival, supported by the Albertine Cinémathèque program.
His visit concluded a month-long series of screenings, masterclasses, and book discussions with an intimate dinner conversation with Maïlys Vallade, a quickly rising animator whose Little Amélie, or the Character of the Rain (2025) has been nominated at major international ceremonies this year, including the Oscars and the Annie Awards, and screened at Princeton the previous evening. Their dialogue opened with Ocelot’s enduring passion for animation in the Harry Potter-like dining hall: “I am a lucky guy. I have always known what I wanted to do. So I did it, and I did it well. And I have always been happy doing it.” Vallade wrapped up the conversation with a special tribute to a “spiritual father” whose films shaped her formative years at the Gobelins, France’s leading school of animation. 

Despite this enthusiasm, Ocelot recalled his initial twenty-year period (1976–1996), during which animation was not a “lucrative” occupation in France, before explaining how the sudden success of Kirikou and the Sorceress contributed to transforming the industry. The film helped foster a distinctive branch of cinema that followed a trajectory different from its American counterparts, including Walt Disney Studios, whose “golden age” spanned the 1920s to the 1960s. Alongside other animators, Ocelot contributed to structural changes in the field, including  the creation of the César Award for Best Animated Film in 2011, which he himself received in 2019 for Dilili in Paris, a richly crafted rediscovery of Belle Époque Paris that brought the PFFF to a close.

A central pillar of the Princeton French Film Festival is its pedagogical mission, which provides local students with the rare opportunity to watch films in classrooms and engage directly with world-class filmmakers—an initiative that sparked Michel Ocelot’s first connection with Princeton. This relationship began last spring when middle school students at Princeton Charter School embarked on a cinematic journey through the Villa Albertine’s CinéSchool program and the Institut Français Film platform. Captivated by an evening screening of The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess (2022) organized on the International Day of Francophonie, they—and their parents— submitted a series of inquiries to Ocelot via their cinephile teacher, Ralitsa Zaharieva. Unexpectedly, the busy director quickly responded with characteristic warmth through two personal videos filmed from his Paris balcony. 

Upon his arrival in Princeton, he deepened this bond through a generous school visit. During his time with the students, Ocelot demonstrated his craft using original cut-out materials from Princes and Princesses, and the community even celebrated his work through a themed menu tasting based on this film. Reflecting on the significance of his work and its impact on her students, Zaharieva noted: “If art has the power to improve the world, Ocelot’s work serves that noble purpose by championing intellect, beauty, and peaceful resolution.” 

The journey continued at the Lawrenceville School, where high school students engaged with Ocelot on assigned films and readings, as well as at the French American School of Princeton, which had incorporated Azur and Asmar into its weekly cinema class. In both institutions, teachers have long relied on pedagogical dossiers and film analysis to approach Ocelot’s masterpieces. When asked to name his favorite character among the many he created, a question often posed by all audiences he encountered, Ocelot replied: “I am a good father. And as a good father, I love all my characters, who are my children.” 

Ocelot was then welcomed by similarly passionate audiences in New York City, where he opened the 10th edition of Francophone Short Films in Harlem at the Maysles Documentary Center, supported in part by the International Organization of the Francophonie. After screenings of short films from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Togo, and Quebec, Ocelot’s early work The Three Inventors (1980), alongside The Princess of Diamonds (2000), was followed by a lively conversation with artist and award-winning filmmaker Brian Hawkins and animator Alexis Zounguere-Sokam.
The latter’s digitally produced Independence Tchatcha (2025) offered a striking contrast to Ocelot’s handcrafted “bricolage,” a term he noted resists direct translation due to its unique artistic connotations. At the end, both agreed on the unprecedented resources computer-based tools offer while allowing the inclusion of handmade crafts. 

Ocelot also participated in the annual “En Français, Oui but Why?” fair organized by the Lycée Français de New York. A screening of Dilili in Paris drew a large audience and was followed by a discussion with Stéphanie Valloatto, director of the New York chapter of French in Motion. The event concluded with a signing session featuring books from Albertine Bookstore. 

Before hopping on a plane to attend other festivals, including Morocco’s upcoming FICAM, Ocelot’s tour culminated in a welcoming brunch hosted by Candy Kugel at her animation studio in downtown Manhattan. A longtime colleague who began her career in animation around the same time, Kugel brought together leading figures in the field—including Emily Hubley, Ray Kosarin, and Bill Plympton—for a joyful reunion with their French peer.  

Like the many students, teachers, and audiences encountered throughout the tour, they expressed keen interest in Ocelot’s forthcoming projects, including a memoir in the making and the celebration of Kirikou’s 30th anniversary in 2028, which is set to be revived as a live stage production in Paris and beyond. Ocelot’s admirers across generations were promised new adventures yet to come.