By Charlotte Brookins 

Reginald de Guillebon (93BA), an alum from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and owner of the French animation studio Folimage, was recognized for his work as a producer on Pachyderme, an Oscar-nominated French animated short film that discusses incestuous abuse. 

“I was so happy to hear about the nomination,” says de Guillebon, who studied French during his time at the University of Iowa.  

This was not the film’s first nomination. Prior to the Academy Awards, Pachyderme received awards for Best Short Film at the Manchester Animation Festival and Best Animated Short at the Foyle Film Festival. A Cat in Paris and Genius Loci, two other animated films from Folimage, were also nominated for Oscars in 2012 and 2021, respectively.  

After graduating from Iowa and returning to France to study business, de Guillebon earned his first producing credit in 2009 on the French animated television show Ariol. Since then, he has been listed as a producer on 33 other projects. 

Widely praised by critics for its beautiful art style and unsettling tone, Pachyderme follows young Louise as she visits her grandparents each summer. Told in dreamlike memories, the film uses visual metaphors to explore Louise’s childhood trauma. 

“In France, the prominence of the MeToo movement came about more slowly than it did in the United States,” de Guillebon says as he explains the motivation for the film’s production. “There are so many famous cases of sexual abuse in the French film industry, and that’s why we made this movie. This is something that isn’t okay, that must be fought; we cannot be complacent.” 

In addition to its tackling of intense subject matter, Pachyderme has also been praised for its extraordinary animation, which allows it to harness the moving imagery it uses to tell its story. To de Guillebon, animation is a unique art form in film-making that goes underappreciated. 

“A movie is the product of all of the frustration you’ve had during the process of making it—it's the sum of the image you had in your mind and what you were actually able to produce onscreen,” de Guillebon explains. “The product onscreen is always a smaller version than what was in your head, but animation permits us to say and do things we wouldn’t be able to in live action. That’s the beauty of it.” 

Reflecting back on his time as an undergraduate student, de Guillebon credits the university and the college for keeping him interested in film while he was exploring other studies. A member of the Bijou Film Board, de Guillebon worked with other students to hold film screenings on campus. He also took part in BUMS, for Best University Music Show, which was a music TV show on the Iowa network. 

“This school influenced me into gaining confidence in myself,” reflects de Guillebon. “Iowa has a special place in my heart. It was the foundation of what came afterwards.” 

De Guillebon is currently working on a reboot of the French franchise Emmanuelle with Chantelouve, his other production company, and hopes to be selected at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.  

More information on his previous and upcoming projects can be found on his IMDb.