Director's Works
The Treasure Thierry Albert, Jules Albert
Thierry Albert is a creative director and a director under the nickname Albert Albert. He’s made ads for Heineken, Instagram and Adidas, documentaries for Dazed & Confused, and music promos for the likes of Pet Shop Boys, Duke Dumont, Format: B or Thom Draft, a video that was shot entirely on phone to be watched specifically on phones for a generation that lives and breathes on Social Media. It got three D&AD pencil awards including one for directing, and a Vimeo Staff Pick. He’s got two kids aged 7 and 11 with international photographer Sophie Ebrard.
Ever since he was little, my son Jules, 11 years old, has spent his life outdoors, climbing trees, and loving nature like few people around me do. When he came to me with this story about a boy landing on a deserted island and discovering the nature around him, followed by the terrifying twist where, in a not-so-
distant future, another boy of the same age realizes that this nature has disappeared forever, and that the only true treasure we had was the planet we are destroying, I knew it was crucial for us to make a film together. To share his message, of course, but also to show him that it’s important to always follow through on your ideas.
We shot the first part of the film on Santo Antão, the western most island of Cape Verde, in 16 mm. Shooting on film was also part of the experience: it’s very organic, you can touch the film stock, and it’s precious. For Jules, who plays in his own film, it’s about focusing on getting the action right to avoid wasting the takes. It’s one more responsibility for him in this project that means so much to him.
For the second part, we thought about it a lot, and making it in animation became an obvious choice. Because animation is universal, it gives the film a fairytale-like quality, but also because it remains artisanal, human, and, in a way, close to nature. We were fortunate that Agnès Patron, whose style we love, liked the project and agreed to help us. It was a fantastic collaboration, and she was able to put on paper exactly what we had in mind.
Finally, Pierre Oberkampf, a brilliant composer, also managed to set this inspiring yet tragic story to music, expressing the child’s wonder at nature before transitioning into a poignant disillusionment at the twist’s end.
We hope the film will touch as many viewers as possible and make them realize how essential it is to protect the Treasure we live on. “We must rewild the world,” as Sir David Attenborough so rightly says.
Thierry & Jules Albert.
