By Mike Davidson and Miranda Murray
CANNES, France, May 19 (Reuters) – “Jim Queen,” a kinetic French adult animated film about a virus that turns gay men straight, was born of its creators’ desire to reflect their experiences in the gay community, including its stigmas and subcultures, through humour.
“We were young, two young gay guys, going out all the time to bars, to parties, and what we were experiencing was not very shown in shows or in animation,” said director Marco Nguyen at the Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered out of competition on Sunday night.
Part of that experience includes the role that HIV/AIDS played in the community, said Simon Balteaux, one of the writers.
“We grew up with this fear of HIV, and it really changed our perception of sexuality,” he said, adding that the film sought to explore those themes through satire.
Main character Jim Parfait is a muscled Parisian influencer who contracts Heterosis, with symptoms including an interest in sports, the desire for children and a lack of abdominal muscles.
As he is pushed to the sidelines of his once-adoring community, he sets out to find a cure, aided by a socially awkward admirer and ardent sex toy collector, Lucien.
Both men said that the format allows the film to tackle serious ideas with humour.
“Animation helps you to just kind of put a glow on it, and it’s more accessible,” said Balteaux.
Bringing “Jim Queen” to the big screen was arduous, the filmmakers said, due to concerns it lacked wider appeal.
“We had kind of the same answer all the time: ‘It’s very funny, it’s very smart, but it’s a little bit too gay, isn’t it?'” said Balteaux, adding it took eight years to secure enough backers.
“I hope that what we’ve done today can open minds of investors and show that those kinds of comedy can be popular,” added Nguyen.
(Reporting by Mike Davidson, Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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