CEEA Talks: Luce Grosjean (Miyu Distribution) “I Can Do This Job Without the Films, Just With the People”

Next time, when I interview Luce Grosjean, I’ll ask her about her favourite colour. Or if she prefers cats to dogs. Because whenever you ask her any question about the state of animated film today, or about distribution and production, you unleash unprecedented, unstoppable forces within her. It could hardly be otherwise for someone who, through her company MIYU, blazes a trail for both established and – above all! – young artists, in whom she recognises talent and potential like no other.

The conversation is interrupted by two birds landing on her washing line. Luce is worried they’ll mess up her laundry. From world domination to domestic chores in the blink of an eye… So she is just an ordinary mortal after all.

I confess: I seldom feel starstruck, but today I do, face to face with the Grande Dame of European short film distribution. Can you see why people feel that way?
Luce Grosjean: I’d prefer a more universal title! Sometimes, people introduce me as “the most important distributor of animated European shorts,” and I think… and what about all the non-European films I work with? There isn’t much competition in this sector.

Which makes it easy to be number one!
Grosjean: I’ve been doing this for 14 years, and I see myself more as the lead ship in a flotilla, the frontrunner in the peloton, setting a course for others. There are many major distributors, but in animation, I get plenty of recognition, and MIYU has a strong identity. Most distributors operate across several sectors; it is easy for us to be the market leader in animation, precisely because we are so specialised. Generally speaking, I’m well informed about the market; I attend many pitches, I know what producers are developing, and we often get the first preview of a film. That’s probably why I sound so confident.

You call it distribution. I’d rather use the term “world sales”.
Grosjean: The proper term would be “world sales and festival distribution”. With shorts, everything that comes after production falls under distribution. Now that we have a few features in our line-up, people may think I’m releasing films in French cinemas, but I’ve no idea how to negotiate with exhibitors and no intention to start. Do you think we should change our name?

I think everybody is comfortable with it. Mercedes doesn’t need to add the word “cars” because everyone knows they make cars. And everyone knows MIYU is taking the world by storm with short film distribution and sales.
Grosjean: And production!

How do distribution and production relate to each other within the same company?
Grosjean: International co-production has been part of MIYU’s DNA from the start, as laid down with my business partners Emmanuel-Alain Raynal and Pierre Baussaron. We’ve worked with the US, and our last two features were co-produced with Japan. In that sense, we share the same DNA. Both sides want to make sure the kind of animation we stand for continues to be produced. Having production and distribution under one roof strengthens the brand, and we both go the extra mile to provide the best service for the projects we love.

Different shorts come with different ambitions. How do you define those ambitions for each project?
Grosjean: The key question with every project is: do we want to work on it? How enthusiastic are we? For us, everything starts with enthusiasm for the animation, the story, and the relationship with the artists or the company. I love films, but I love working with people even more. I sometimes think: I can do this job without the films, just with the people.

What other criteria matter when selecting a project?
Grosjean: What can we actually bring to the film? If we’re overloaded and can’t properly support another title, we may turn it down even if we like the film. We also ask what the film adds to our catalogue. If the filmmaker is already well-established in the industry, we may not be the right fit because they don’t necessarily need our festival promotion. In that case, it can make more sense to approach a younger distributor and help launch their career.

Are those the elements that make a film a genuine MIYU title?
Grosjean: I enjoy working with emerging talent that we can help put on the map. A director from New Zealand, for example, can use our knowledge of the European festival circuit as a springboard to the rest of the world. We want to release something new without repeating ourselves. Some films I simply can’t sell because I don’t connect with them myself. We’re mainly into indie stuff with international potential, whether horror or social drama. We do very little experimental work, and nothing overly childish either.

Yet, every children’s film festival I know includes a few of your titles each year. That’s quite a compliment for a company that says not to be engaged in children’s content.
Grosjean: Children’s films make so much more money than other films. In a kind of socialist way, they allow us to take risks on other projects. Children’s films have a longer lifespan; their market is broader, creating more opportunities for circulation. But the first thing that convinces us is whether we like the film as adults. I love working for that audience, even if I don’t understand them, but if I like the film and if they like it too… I’m pleasing everyone. We handle a maximum of four or five children’s films a year, and they help to compensate for riskier titles. That’s also my advice to artists living under fascist regimes: start making children’s content! It’s a way to survive.

One thing you may have borrowed from children’s cinema is the compilation format, pioneered by the French Les Films du Préau.
Grosjean: We started doing compilations to enter the library market. We made programmes around horror, children’s films, LGBT stories, erotic cinema… It’s easy to sell, for instance, for La Fête de l’Animation, La Fête du Court Métrage, or on VOD. Only once did we bring one to the cinemas; I toured with an erotic-trash programme called PLAN CUL LA PRALINE, but the financial return didn’t justify the amount of work. We can’t compete with Les Films du Préau or Gebeka because they know the theatres and they know their audience. What we know at MIYU is curation, hoping one day theatrical distributors can handle this type of programme.”

In traditional distribution, there is a short-term strategy for theatrical releases and a long-term strategy for the second and third windows. Do you need both strategies for short film distribution?
Grosjean: MIYU has two departments – Festival Distribution and Sales – and I oversee both. Our colleague Ambre Anagnostides develops the festival strategy to boost sales; a film’s festival and market presence can create a snowball effect. Annabel Sebag has a global vision on how to sell shorts. The films that work best for us are the ones with long careers, films that start to live on their own. I’d say the lifespan of a film is around three years. Chronologically, the final window of exposure is usually our YouTube channel.

What happens on that YouTube channel, Bang Bang?
Grosjean: I love shorts above all else, and it’s important to have places where quality animated shorts can be seen. I got frustrated with all the directors who wanted to put their films on Vimeo – I’m a sales agent, how am I supposed to make money from Vimeo? I’m happy to help directors release their films, but I want to monetise that process. That’s why we created Bang Bang – A Shot of Shorts. Some films still can’t go there because of explicit drug use or nudity, but at least we now have this online oasis where people can watch excellent animated shorts.

Traditional distributors were reluctant to embrace online platforms because they forced them to rethink their entire business model. For short films, though, these platforms were a blessing, offering you possibilities you never had before.
Grosjean: Discoverability and credibility are key elements in short film distribution. We want to help directors build careers and convince financiers they’re ready for bigger projects. Therefore, you need to tick all the boxes the industry expects. Having online views is one of these requirements.

But can you still maintain a strategy on those platforms, or do you lose control over your product?
Grosjean: I can’t control what works online. 20 years ago, films on Vimeo went viral. Today, if something goes viral, it’s because some young crook ripped our film and uploaded it on TikTok. Then people come to tell me after a screening: “It’s so nice to see the full version finally!” So to have your film seen, you first need to get robbed! The truth is that festival distribution is our main source of income. Festival screenings are more important (and beneficial) than 2 million views on YouTube. The gap in monetisation between one person seeing my film in a theatre and another watching it in the bathroom on a mobile phone is huge. Moreover, the cinema is still the best place to discover a film. Online platforms are the last window; first, we want audiences to see the films in theatres.

When you mention the feature films in your line-up, I sense a different kind of passion, as if you feel a need to justify them. Where does that feeling come from?
I love doing feature film sales and distribution. I learn something from every film, and I try to do better with each new title. In a way, they are more edgy than some of the shorts I distribute. But where we really excel is festival distribution, bringing international recognition to the artists we work with and making sure they have their place in the international animation landscape. Features mean bigger budgets and bigger investments, but they are also a great source of recognition and income, and they help us structure what we offer on the market. I feel this is a challenge that we are still trying to figure out how to do as good as we do with the shorts, and I like this feeling.

Tell me more about those features.
Grosjean: I mainly want these films to be recognised because I truly think they’re amazing. OLIVIA & THE CLOUDS by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat was the film that taught me the ropes. Even though it’s quite experimental, I found it easy to sell, unlike LA GRAN HISTORIA DE LA FILOSOFÍA OCCIDENTAL by Aria Covamonas. I was proud to work on DOZENS OF NORTHS by Koji Yamamura, who is widely recognised as a top animator; still, I wanted the film to reach beyond the animation community. And ARCHIPEL by Félix Dufour-Laperrière was the first, released as a co-distribution with La Distributrice.

Are there directors who’ve particularly grown under your wing?
Grosjean: Britt Raes has been with me from the beginning. We were both part of the Animation Sans Frontières programme, and she trusted me with her first professional short, CATHERINE. We went to festivals together, learned how to promote a film “the Hollywood way”, and seeing her grow, while growing alongside her, was wonderful. Now she’s making a TV series based on LUCE AND THE ROCK, something she always dreamed of.

When you meet the new generation of animators today, do you notice a shift in their ambitions, their desires?
Grosjean: I think they dream bigger. In the past, you could have one short that screened everywhere, at every festival, and everyone would know it. There were fewer people making animation, so everyone knew each other. Today, there’s more diversity across festivals, but each individual festival has become more niche. In France, animation directors are starting to become bankable, like Emilie Tronche (the creator of SAMUEL), which still feels strange in a way. But it’s great for the industry.

Some say the young generation is full of anxiety. Not only because of the threat of AI, but because of the state of the world they live in and the industry they work in.
Grosjean: I’m not sure if that applies to the artists I work with, because they’re all so unique. When I started in 2012, the animation industry was going through a major crisis, and today, it feels similar. For students, getting a first job may be difficult, but there are also more opportunities. Six years ago, I couldn’t name a single woman in France directing animated features. Today, they’re everywhere. So maybe there are more obstacles for people aiming at the big studios, but there’s also much more space — and confidence — for young artists developing their own projects. And those are exactly the people I work with.

Do you notice a geographical shift – countries where you feel something is emerging?
Grosjean: Europe is becoming less and less the centre of co-production. France remains a strong partner because of the structure of its funding system. But what if we end up with a far-right president next year? Imagine what that would mean for all the filmmakers who moved here, even from the US, to make a living from their art. I see interesting bridges between the African diaspora and the continent itself. I’m excited by what’s happening in Mexico – their strength as a community is impressive. Few countries saw better box office results for FLOW than Mexico. Spain is another exciting territory! New markets are emerging, and we shouldn’t underestimate them. It may take time, as animation works slowly, but bridges are being built with regions that are not traditionally associated with project development.

On the other hand, last year, Hungary was a rising nation in animation, despite its political climate. How do you look at the situation in the CEE region?
Grosjean: It’s an oasis of talent, with superb studios, excellent schools, and great visibility. The big difference with France is the recognition artists receive. There, I feel that animation matters more. Just wait until Diana Cam Van Nguyen and Daria Kashcheeva make their first features. The future is there — and it’s female. Just like Anca Damian, they’re all Central and Eastern European women.

France nevertheless remains a key co-production partner for Eastern Europe.
Grosjean: But what if, for example, the CNC collapses next year? I know it sounds extreme – pure capitalism never fully disappears – but in many countries, public broadcasting budgets are being cut year after year. The very things that made France such a strong co-production partner are under pressure. If this continues, we’ll have to find new ways for artists – and for ourselves – to keep making a living.

How dependent is MIYU on public funding?
Grosjean: We receive no support for distribution; our partnership with Miyu Productions is what helps keep us sustainable. The international sales support fund in France is only €60,000, shared between at least eight companies every year. If we launch an Oscar campaign, we can only do it with the support of our co-producing countries. In France, the maximum support from Unifrance is €5,000. As the head of a company, I have to think about how to guarantee our sustainability, without security or subsidies. Still, I’m confident we’ll survive.

The interview was conducted by Gert Hermans for Animation HUB.