Bibo Bergeron, director of Shark Tale, The Road to El Dorado, and A Monster in Paris, is set to direct a new feature that is quite different from his previous efforts: an animated biopic of German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon, currently titled Charlotte.
Salomon, who was killed by the Nazis at the age of 26 at the Auschwitz concentration camp, didn’t achieve art world fame during her lifetime, but is remembered today for a series of 769 paintings she produced in the early-1940s while in hiding from the Nazis. The autobiographical paintings, collectively entitled “Life? Or Theater?: A Song-play,” will form the basis of Bergeron’s 2D feature.
“Staying true to Charlotte’s spirit and body of work, our film will be punctuated with fantasy, dream-like elements and the animation designs will be minimalist, in a similar vein as [Remi Chayé’s] Long Way North,” Bergeron told Variety, which first reported the news. “We’ll be animating and interpreting her paintings, placing the emphasis on the story which is extraordinarily moving.” Bergeron believes that the film’s key theme—how art can save our lives and help us stay sane—will especially resonate with contemporary audiences.
