‘Jim Queen,’ ‘In Waves,’ ‘Lucy Lost’: What Do This Year’s Buzziest French Features Have In Common? Meet Studio Goa Shan Pictures

With a trio of the year’s buzziest animated feature credits under its belt – Jim Queen, In Waves, and Lucy Lost – Gao Shan Pictures has put together a cross-border operation based on the French island of Réunion that is quickly becoming the envy of the French indie animation scene.

Before this year’s impressive feature lineup, Gao Shan already boasted a heck of a resume, including work on films such as I Lost My Body, Mars Express, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds, Little Nicolas, and many more, as well as shorts and series in both 2D and 3D, including The Smurfs and Team Nuggets. If there was a high-profile French indie on the festival circuit in the last decade, there’s a fair chance that Gao Shan was involved.

Twelve years after its founding by Arnaud Boulard, the company continues to expand while keeping local talent, environmental responsibility, and close creative partnerships at the heart of its approach.

Most recently, producers, investors, and artists flocked to the studio’s energetic pitch for Roots of My Hair at Cartoon Forum, in a standing-room-only pitch that was one of the event’s clear highlights. Gao Shan also took home the first Ecoprod-Cartoon Tribute, a new category in the established Cartoon Forum awards honoring sustainability efforts within European animation.

This sustainable, eco-conscious, and inclusive approach to making animation has been at the heart of Gao Shan’s policy, from the opening of its first studio on Réunion to its expansion with facilities in Angoulême, Mauritius, and, last year, Annecy.

Following the Ecoprod-Cartoon Tribute win, Cartoon Brew spoke with producers Anne-Flore Aussant and Bérangère Condomines, both at the core of Gao Shan’s current success.

“At Gao Shan, we choose projects based on Arnaud’s flair and ours,” explained Condomines. “Clearly, there’s an artistic vision we’re sensitive to. And then there are the values the films embody. For us, it’s important to pursue independent paths that, while having very interconnected topics, all reflect human values. So I think that naturally guides almost all our choices.”

The veteran producer, who grew up on Réunion, joined Gao Shan in 2021 to develop new in-house series and features. She quickly settled into the well-organized, supportive ecosystem Gao Shan had built with its many clients over the years. “It’s not only about the projects, it’s also about the people. We’re in fact very people-focused, and I think that shows not only in the stories we choose, but also in the people we partner with and the teams we build.”

Those teams include the staff in Annecy, supervised by Aussant alongside creative director Paul Ó Muiris. “Arnaud and I knew each other already, as I had worked with him on Réunion a little over eight years ago. He reached out back in 2022 as he wanted to develop a new facility in mainland France, and we got along incredibly well. Today, we are trying to start our first TV series in Annecy, and Bérangère is on the same path on Réunion, with Roots.”

With a collective shout of “Nappy hair matters!” Condomines and her creative team captivated Cartoon Forum’s audience with Roots of My Hair. The series, comprising six 13-minute episodes, embodies not only Gao Shan’s narrative DNA, but also the way it builds every project—with both a deep connection to the people involved and a skillful production setup.

“Roots is very similar to the projects we usually participate in as a service studio,” added Condomines. “It’s clearly defined, aligns with the worldview we want to put on screen, and we connected very much with the directors. Then comes the solution-finding process, and we’ve built a very good reputation around that particular aspect.”

For the two producers, having Gao Shan’s infrastructure and flexible teams at hand is a definite plus. The company boasts both 3D and 2D pipelines and can rely on experts in both techniques across all locations, as there’s no strict separation between facilities.

Building on this agility, Gao Shan weathered the storm of diminishing commissions and adapted to production demands. “We’re incredibly lucky to have teams in IT, pipeline, and all departments filled with artistic energy and ready to adapt to projects, stories, and the needs of our partners,” explained Aussant. “I think that definitely helped.”

“It’s not all rainbows and sunshine,” Condomines went on, “but I have the impression that what keeps us in shape is that we haven’t necessarily exceeded a critical size. We’ve seen in recent years that studios that suffered the biggest blows were way bigger than us. We managed to remain quite small, and I think perhaps we’re perceived as a much bigger company than we actually are. This size actually helped us, even if we’re not immune to these difficult times.”

Talent management is key to this adaptability and is also part of Gao Shan’s sustainable approach. On Réunion, 30% of the staff is now local, and the company partnered with the animation school Rubika to open a new campus there a few years ago. “The first students from this cohort are graduating next year, and we also work with another local school to take on interns every year. Our goal is to train as many talented people in the area as possible, not only to strengthen our capacity in the region but also to reduce our environmental impact,” explained Condomines.

At Gao Shan, environmental awareness and sustainability are more than just keywords, Condomines said. “Our approach can be split into three aspects. First, there’s the editorial line: we have a number of films that address ecological, environmental, or social issues.”

In 2024, the studio produced Pie Dan Lo, a short animated documentary by Kim Yip Tong about the 2020 oil spill off the coast of Mauritius, one of the region’s worst ecological disasters.

“Then, this awareness extends to the studio’s way of life,” continued the producer. “We have implemented a charter to facilitate eco-conscious best practices for everyone. And last but not least, that’s also something we think about when setting up a new production. Not only in terms of technique, pipelines, and software, but also in terms of talent and where people are based, as I mentioned earlier.”

Thousands of miles from mainland Europe, this regional hub—encompassing Réunion, Mauritius, and Madagascar—continues to grow, with Gao Shan part of an effort to support not only local artists, but storytellers as well.

“There’s a real common desire to showcase the talent of the region,” concluded Aussant, who praised her colleague’s project Roots of My Hair more than once during the interview. “After all, it’s a completely unique geographical area, with great potential and great people. When you’re in this field, it’s crucial, and I would say that it’s what kept us going also when times were tough. If you’re surrounded by good people and you work with supportive ones, it does help you get through it.”