He’s such a talented guy and how lucky he is to have one of the best jobs in the whole world. A lot of people would give their right arm (well, maybe that’s an exaggeration) to be in Charles Ancelle’s place. He’s a writer, director and producer of some pretty cool films. Two of his early short films actually were official selections at the Cannes Short Film Festival, which is a very rare feat, indeed. He also wrote and directed and produced John Bondage, Cross The Line and Le Sacre de la nuit, all of which scored endless great reviews and won acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Yes, you’re right. That last one is in French because Charles is from Paris originally.
He now resides in the states and he is constantly on the move from one picture to another. He produces features, shorts, music videos and TV and web shows. This guy seems to never run out of energy – physical or creative energy, that is. Whatever it takes to get the job done and the movie completed, Charles will do it. He knows every bit of landscape there is to know in the producing universe because he has pretty much done every job on a movie set. He is well aware of what it takes to get the film “in the can.”
Among other feature length movies, Charles produced the beautifully shot (and produced) love story, Waves. The independent feature was set in truly breathtaking locations and starred two very compelling and easy to look at actors, Baron Geisler and the lovely Ilona Struzik. They played former friends who go to an isolated island and attempt to rekindle whatever feelings they had for each other previously. Waves received solid reviews in its Philippine outing (where it was shot) and also did very well at the box office. It’s an entertaining and touching film that is scheduled for world-wide release this year. Charles and his producing partner Anna Skrypka brought the movie in on schedule and within budget, which is every producer’s credo.
Maybe that’s why the producers of a movie win the Oscar for Best Picture. They are with the film longer than anyone else and it must be like raising a kid from the diaper and bottle feeding stage, all the way through the teenage angst cycle until finally, the child is mature and leaves the house. Wow! What a lot of work! Maybe producers deserve an Oscar just for finishing a movie.
