Now in his fourth decade as a filmmaker, and one of the renowned animators of the National Film Board, director Pierre Hebert has often experimented with techniques to help draw audiences into his films.

Sometimes, he had musicians improvise while he scratched directly on a piece of film looping through a 16mm projector. Other times, he worked with dancers and even became part of the performance himself, while he practiced his live animation technique.

Likewise, experimentation was the modus operandi Hebert used in the making of La Plante humaine, a coproduction between the nfb and Arcadia Films of France (Freddy Danaes, producer).

It was back in 1987 that Hebert and Danaes first met, when Danaes surfaced on a visit to Montreal. Hebert says he just showed up in Montreal and wanted to collaborate. ‘It was like a miracle,’ says Hebert. The two became fast friends and started talking about their joint project.

The opportunity to work with Danaes meant Hebert, an nfb veteran of 34 years who has directed 20 shorts, could finally make a feature. Hebert says if Arcadia had not invested about 40% of the film’s $2-million budget, the project may never have seen the light of day.

La Plante humaine is the story of a retired library worker whose job it was to shelve books. Before putting away the books, he would read little bits from each one. In retirement, he spends a lot of time watching tv.

The film juxtaposes the rich imagery of his imaginary world with that of the world on tv.

The man has a vivid inner life with virtual characters inhabiting his brain including Leonardo da Vinci, an African storyteller, a rabbi who gives commentary on the Talmud, and a Chinese storyteller.

The protagonist goes about his days: walking his dog, interacting minimally with his neighbor, talking with a homeless lady, but the film focuses mostly on the world of his mind’s eye.

La Plante humaine’s first air date on Tele-Quebec coincided, unfortunately, with the ice storm of ’98, when half of Quebec was without electricity. At the end of the year, Plante hit the airwaves again, this time on Teletoon.

Hebert is currently assistant director general of the animation/youth studio in the nfb’s French production branch.