Butterfly
An Oscar-nominated animated short inspired by a Jewish-Algerian swimmer who competed at the Olympics - in Nazi Germany.
Synopsis
This oil painting-styled animation was Inspired by the true story of Alfred Nakache, a Jewish-Algerian swimmer who competed at the 1936 Olympics - in Nazi Germany.
Accolades
• 2026 Oscar nominee: Best Animated Short
• Best French Short Film Award, Annecy
• Generation Kplus: Best Short Film, Berlin
“Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty, tragedy, triumph, and importance of Papillon.”
Directors Notes
Algeria | 2024 | 14 min
Did you know?
This was the first Oscar nomination for 70-year-old French director Florence Miailhe. As a child, Florence had swimming lessons with Alfred’s younger brother, William. During one lesson, she was even asked to demonstrate her butterfly for Alfred.
It was only much later that she discovered the personal story behind the famous swimmer, including his time at Auschwitz.
“As soon as I came across his story, everything surprised me,” she told Animation Magazine. “It’s an incredible life. But a few things made a deep impression on me. The first is his return from the camps. In 1945, he weighed barely 40 and we’re talking about a top-level athlete here. It’s shocking to imagine a champion’s body in such a state. And the craziest thing is that in 1948, less than three years later, he was selected for the Olympic Games of London. This capacity for resilience is what amazed me the most. He experienced absolute horror, and he came back, swimming again at a world- class level. It’s almost unbelievable.
“Then there is a historical element that I was completely unaware of: the revocation of Algerian Jews’ citizenship during the Vichy regime. Algerian Jews had obtained French citizenship thanks to the Crémieux Decree (in 1870). But under Vichy, this nationality was taken away from them, and they became ‘Indigenes’ once again. Which explains why Alfred Nakache was excluded from French competitions: he was no longer considered a French citizen. This part of colonial and anti-Semitic history really struck me.”
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