Paris/Santiago — French production company Vivement Lundi! has joined Chilean studio Pista B as co-producer on Baptism, the debut feature from Oscar-nominated director Hugo Covarrubias, known for his acclaimed short film Bestia.
Currently in development, Baptism is a stop-motion animated feature that draws on Covarrubias’ childhood memories in 1980s Santiago, Chile. The film blends real-life family stories with dreamlike sequences to depict life under a dictatorship, interwoven with the personal impact of a relative’s AIDS-related death. It is scheduled for production in 2027.
The film is being developed as a French-Chilean co-production, with ongoing talks to bring in additional partners from Europe and North America. The project has already secured early funding through regional grants after appearances at Ventana Sur’s Animation!, the Quirino Awards, and Annecy’s MIFA pitch sessions.
Using VHS footage from his family archive, Covarrubias aims to recreate a tactile, analogue version of Santiago through detailed stop-motion animation. The story mixes naturalistic domestic moments with surreal, poetic imagery.
Jean-François Le Corre of Vivement Lundi! praised the project, calling it a perfect fit for the company’s focus on animated films with strong historical and political themes.
“Stop-motion is in Vivement Lundi!’s DNA,” Le Corre said. “After producing films like Flee and No Dogs or Italians Allowed, we were looking for another ambitious project. Bestia was one of the most outstanding shorts of recent years, and we are proud to support Hugo’s first feature.”
Producer Lucas Engel of Pista B is known for championing experimental, adult-focused animation. Alongside Baptism, the studio is preparing to release three new shorts on the festival circuit in 2025, with six more planned for 2026.
“I struggle with doing things the traditional way,” Engel said. “I like mistakes, rough textures, and a kind of punk aesthetic in animation.”
Pista B’s upcoming works fuse genres like horror, satire, and surrealism, often using unconventional materials — from thermoplastics to found objects — and DIY techniques such as heat-gun distortion and analogue-video layering.
Although based in Santiago, Pista B operates like a creative cooperative. Visual artists and animators collaborate across projects and rotate roles, fostering a collective approach to filmmaking. Many team members have ties to directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña (The Wolf House), and often work together in a shared studio space.
“People are hungry for something different,” Engel said. “This kind of niche animation is becoming more commercial because audiences are looking for fresh voices and new styles.”
With Baptism, Covarrubias and his team aim to bring those voices to the forefront of international animation.
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