WATCH: Vincent van Gogh biopic is ‘first fully painted feature film’

MANILA, Philippines – Imagine Vincent van Gogh’s iconic paintings brought to life, with all its breathtaking swirls and flourishes, all in a movie.

Making Loving Vincent has been an extraordinary feat on the part of its filmmakers, painter and director Dorota Kobiela and Oscar winner Hugh Welchman (as producer of animated short film Peter and the Wolf in 2008).

Loving Vincent has been touted as the “first fully painted feature film.”

In the new trailer above, we get a glimpse at the final product, which features some of Van Gogh’s iconic paintings: Starry Night over the Rhone, The Seine Bridge at Asnieres, and more.

BBC Culture reports that around 100 painters – all trained to emulate Van Gogh’s style – are working on 56,000 oil paintings needed to make the feature-length film. Around 40 minutes is needed to produce one frame.

“No one had set up an infrastructure to make painting animation at scale,” co-director Welchman told BBC Culture. “Disney did this for 2D, Pixar for 3D, and Aardman for stop motion – but no one has done it for painting animation.”

The screenplay, meanwhile, is based on 800 letters written by van Gogh himself. The film tells the 19th century painter’s story by way of fictional interviews, and features around 120 of his paintings.

Aidan Turner, Saoirse Ronan, Helen McCrory, Douglas Booth, and Eleanor Tomlinson are set to star in Loving Vincent.

The film’s production team is also recruiting painters to contribute to this ambitious project. Visit their website for details about auditions and employment. – Rappler.com