A mysterious virus breaks out in Paris, turning gay men into heterosexuals in a new film that looks set to turn heads, and do so in style, when it world premieres in Cannes’ Midnight Screenings program Sunday, May 17, going into Monday. Don’t worry, this is not a ripped-from-the-headlines story, but an irreverent French adult animated comedy called Jim Queen.
The titular Jim is Jim Parfait – yes, that’s indeed French for “perfect,” a ripped queer influencer and “king of the Gym Queens” community on social media whose world crumbles when he contracts said virus, dubbed Heterosis. Mon Dieu, he even loses all his social media followers – except for Lucien, a closeted virgin. The odd couple must go on a wild ride in the French capital and its Marais district, the beating heart of the city’s queer scene, in the hunt for a rumored cure to not only heal Jim, but also save the LGBTQIA+ community from extinction.
The satire is the creation of Nicolas Athané and Marco Nguyen in their feature directorial debut. They co-wrote the film with Simon Balteaux and Brice Chevillard. The producers are David Alric and Arthur Delabays of French animation studio Bobbypills (Creature Commandos). Global Constellation is handling sales.
The voice cast is led by Alex Ramirès and Jérémy Gillet and also includes the likes of gay porn icon François Sagat, singer Philippe Katerine and drag performer La Briochée.
“The inspiration comes from our own lives,” Nguyen tells THR about Jim Queen. “I am gay, and when I arrived in Paris, I was 17, and I discovered a whole new world. The gay culture was so rich and had so many communities, including the fetish scene, which were all great inspirations for the movie.”
Shares Balteaux: “I’m the second gay guy in the team. We met during one of these amazing parties you see [in the film], and that’s how we started on the project. We both wanted to talk about the LGBTQ communities in Paris, so Jim Queen is a love letter to them and all the amazing people.” The colorful cast of characters is influenced by the creators, their friends, their exes and other people they have met, he tells THR, explaining: “I came to Paris from the countryside when I was 20, and I can definitely recognize myself in Lucien.”
People in the know will also recognize real-life Paris bars and venues in the movie. But it was particularly important for the creative team to accurately portray the diversity of the queer community. “We worked with many people and made them read the scripts, because we wanted to really represent these communities,” explains Athané. “We were so relieved when we found that they loved it and really recognized themselves.” Beyond the Paris focus and the celebration of its queer culture, the team also highlights the universal themes that the film touches on, from identity and feeling seen to (body) image and social media fame.
Chevillard, who worked as an animator on Despicable Me 2, enjoyed developing eccentric characters that are not Minions-famous, at least not yet. “After working on big, broad feature films, being more creative as a writer was really refreshing,” he says.
Of course, the creative process behind Jim Queen involved a lot of discussions, including when it came to various jokes and puns. One example was a long debate about the name “Gaystapo” for one of the groups featured in the film, given the historic connotation. But the creative team ended up feeling it worked.
Given a backlash against queer rights in various parts of the world, how did the creators approach political references in the film? “It’s still a comedy,” offers Nguyen. “We just looked to find the right tone and the right sense of humor to [address even some] heavy themes, but in a light way.”
Balteaux recalls the work on the film started during a period when he hardly had a worry. “The French parliament had just accepted gay weddings. I was definitely feeling very comfortable with my sexuality. We had the feeling we were living a Golden Age,” he says. “But over the years of struggling to make the movie, everything changed. And now [parts of the film will] sound very political. But we never wanted to be too political or lecture people.”
Now, the Jim Queen crew can’t wait to take the film, the laughs and the party to Cannes. “Until recently, we were expecting to have this very tiny movie that a couple of people were going to see,” emphasizes Balteaux. “Cannes changed everything after seven years of people telling us that this will never work.”
The creatives have their fingers crossed that Jim Queen will connect with audiences and help with funding for more adult animation films in the future. Could there be a Jim Queen 2? Says Nguyen: “If the film is a success and people want more, I would be more than ready to go for a number two.”
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