Press

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

« Most aresting, however, is the film's use of sound and music (sound design by Gurwal Cook-Gallas and composition by Pablo Pico), which give each scene an atmospheric lilt. »

Maya Phillips

VARIETY

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"The clearest indication of Chieux’s intended tone is the film’s score, composed by Pablo Pico: delicate piano and light winds (naturally) that bloom into something truly ethereal when local pop star Selma, a star-crossed love interest of sorts for Sirocco, reveals her voice — a sequence where the film’s unique look and sound fuse together brilliantly. Selma’s otherworldly performance (delivered by Célia Kameni) adds so much […] “Sirocco” practically begs to be a musical."

Peter Debruge

SCREEN DAILY

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"And it’s in the character of Selma – the beauty of her voice and of her empathy – that the film finds its soul. The score, by Pablo Pico is gorgeous throughout, lush, sweeping and richly orchestrated. But when Selma sings – French-Cameroonian jazz vocalist Célia Kameni provides her voice – it is spine-tingling. A velvety purr that gradually builds, soaring and pure, it’s a voice that legitimately could have come from another world."

Wendy Ide

PREMIERE

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"We let ourselves be carried away by the sublime music of Pablo Pico"

Francois Léger

LE MONDE

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

“Benoit Chieux’s film […] suggests, through the drawing and the music of the composer Pablo Pico, the breath that animates each of us.”

Veronique Cauhape

20 MINUTES

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"The originality of its design, like a magnificent score by Pablo Pico, transports the viewer into his world in which one feels good."

Caroline Vie

PARIS-MATCH

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Visually splendid, "Sirocco or the Kingdom of The Winds" will transport you to the seventh heaven of animated poetry, notably thanks to the score by Pablo Pico"

Yannick Vely

LA CROIX

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Driven by an absolutely sublime soundtrack composed by the very talented Pablo Pico, already at work in Adama or Marona's Fantastic Tale, Sirocco draws a powerful breath of life from it."

Stephane Dreyfus

CINÉSCRIBE

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Through the character of Selma, a singer, the music, composed by Pablo Pico (who had already composed the soundtrack for another animated feature film awarded at Annecy, Marona's Fantastic Tale by Anca Damian), gives substance to this beautiful reflection on the multiple manifestations of breath: respiration, wind, principle of life..."

Nausicaa Zaballos-Dey

L'INFO TOUT COURT

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"From the very first images, he projects us into this cosmos governed by the wind, an ineffably gentle breath that delicately settles in the room thanks to the music of Pablo Pico. [...]

The music composed by Pablo Pico does much more than punctuate the entire film. It evokes the wind and we feel it. The orchestra that accompanies the scenes envelops the images with brass, woodwinds, and strings and prolongs this breath “beyond the visual dimension”. The wind becomes a living melody, it moans, inhales and exhales like any creature. […] The original compositions enter our chests and never let go, like a ghostly presence that flies over a space. The singer Célia Kameni – who lends her voice to the character of Selma – adds to this flight. […] The voluptuousness of the notes joins the poetry of the moment, in this arch suspended in the infinite space of the sky.

Lucine Bastard-Rosset

LE SOIR

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Sirocco and the Kingdom of The Winds is also carried by the beautiful soundtrack of the multi-instrumentalist composer Pablo Pico, and the singing from elsewhere of Célia Kameni in an opera scene that can recall that of the diva Plavalaguna from The Fifth Element. An absolute must-see!"

Fabienne Bradfer

CINEUROPA

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Pablo Pico's music is the cherry on the cake. The piano is soft and often accompanied by natural sounds that evoke that of the wind."

Davide Abbatescianni

BENSHI

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Children will undoubtedly be captivated by this great adventure story with its graphic and colorful aesthetic, carried by the sumptuous original music of Pablo Pico."

MOVIE AND GAME

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Special mention to this masterful scene where the diva sings in front of an ecstatic crowd. […]. A performance that reminds us that the best films are those that know how to dose the irruption of music in the middle of silence. In this respect, we should note the remarkable OST produced by Pablo Pico."

KillerSe7ven

CINÉVERSE

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"Pablo Pico's symphonic soundtrack enhances the scenes with a strong emotional density. Not to mention the singer Celia Kameni who plays Selma, a singer using inhalation and exhalation to deliver one of the most astonishing scenes of the film, in a concert hall perched in the sky."

Pravine

3DVF

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"A captivating project, driven by brilliant artistic direction and masterful music. A big favorite."

Shadows

CINERGIE

SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF THE WINDS

"When the first notes of the sublime musical score by Pablo Pico ring out, it becomes impossible to take your eyes off the screen that comes to life before us, breathing incredible energy. A film where air is king needed music worthy of the name. And the composer's vibrant and majestic orchestrations, combined with the voice of singer and musician Célia Kameni, exceed these expectations to give Sirocco and the Kingdom of The Winds an epic dimension worthy of the greatest animated films of the last century. Melodies that will undoubtedly stay with you long after you leave the theater, irremediably drawing you back to the lands of Sirocco for a splendid waltz with the winds."

Kevin Giraud

MAINTITLES

DENEUVE, LA REINE CATHERINE

"Pablo Pico wrote a varied, rich score reflective of a wide range of nuances and openly expressive emotions, using an functional array of orchestral and (jazzy) solo musical instruments."

Joep de Bruijn

TÉLÉRAMA

LA FABRIQUE DU SOIN

"To the cheerful notes of a flute accompanied by a clarinet, soon joined by an accordion, the scene is set, and the tone given. Right from the start, there is that little something that tells us that this film will not be like the others."

Juliette Warlop

TÉLÉRAMA

VIBRATO, L'ÉCOUTE DES VICTIMES DU BATACLAN

"no image or sound from this fateful evening is given to see or hear. Instead, they stage dancing bodies in chiaroscuro [...], noises and music with a finely suggestive percussive dimension (BO by Pablo Pico)"

Sebastian Porte

TÉLÉRAMA

HEMINGWAY, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL

"The commentary by Anaïs Demoustier and the original music by Pablo Pico contribute to the pleasure provided by the story of a life that is certainly tragic, but vibrant"

Francois Ekchajzer

LA CROIX

HEMINGWAY, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL

"Enhancing the whole, the soundtrack by Pablo Pico, composer of numerous animated films, combines instrumental music and the sounds of nature in a slightly crazy farandole."

Stephane Dreyfus

SOURDOREILLE

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"The original music composed by Pablo Pico is a remedy for depression. Nothing less..."

Romain Bourceau

LE MONDE

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"Anca Damian composes a melody of happiness at the height of a dog. [...]

unfolding according to the instruments implemented by the three artists who orchestrated them: the Belgian comic strip author Brecht Evens, in charge of the visuals and the creation of the characters; the Norwegian Gina Thorstensen and the Italian Sarah Mazzetti, responsible for the sets; the French composer Pablo Pico. Their unique worlds nourish the film [...]. A melody of a happiness that must be seized in the moment, a modern fairy tale about love that must be cherished"

Veronique Cauhape

VARIETY

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

“Marona's Fantastic Tale” takes place almost entirely in such a dreamy musical space, defying linear perspective (the basis of most Western illustration) in favor of something far more freeform and playful. The film interrupts its own narrative at times to send Marona plunging into the pages of library books, or blasting her into outer-space orbit, swept along by Pablo Pico's gently supportive score."

Peter Debruge

SCREEN DAILY

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"The closing song ’Happiness’ from Isabel Sorling and Pablo Pico effectively captures the delicate charm and poignancy of the film"

Allan Hunter

LOS ANGELES TIMES

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"Pablo Pico’s beautiful, largely understated score is likewise versatile: It can feel intimate or can convey wonder."

Michael Ordoña

CINEUROPA

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"A universal thread that the director artfully weaves into a very inspired and beautiful graphic luxuriance [...] very well packaged by the music of the Frenchman Pablo Pico."

Fabien Lemercier

LA CROIX

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"Combining cartoons, computer-generated images and cut-out paper with a refreshing fantasy, the film, lulled by the sublime music of Pablo Pico, is at once an explosion of acidulous colors and a range of dark tones."

Stephane Dreyfus

INTERNATIONAL CINEPHILE SOCIETY

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"a fascinating mixture of animated styles to bring to the screen the perceptions of the titular heroine, carried by a wonderfully evocative and emotional score by Pablo Pico"

Marc van de Klashorst

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

MARONA'S FANTASTIC TALE

"a playful score by Pablo Pico accompanies what is a touching chronicle of a dog"

Jordan Mintzer

LE PARISIEN

ADAMA

"an astonishing blend of African pictorial culture and stylistic modernity, to which a captivating soundtrack is added. In the end, we leave the film overwhelmed, having witnessed a spectacle of breathtaking beauty."

FORMAT COURT

DRIPPED

"Pablo Pico, the composer, takes particular care with his jazz pieces, switching happily from piano to strings, via saxophone. In the absence of dialogue or narrator, his music accompanies the film's plot as desired. Result: "Dripped" is as much seen as it is heard. With delight.

[...] "Dripped" goes further, it goes around in a funny way and delivers the historical truth, letting Verrier's imagination and Pico's touch spread out and burst at will. The sound finds its mistress, the image, the feelings impregnate the canvases, the color wanders between the frescoes, the overturned pots, the alleys and the museum galleries."

Katia Bayer