Iron Boy (film)
2026 film by Louis Clichy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iron Boy (French: Le Corset)[1] is a 2026 animated film directed by Louis Clichy and co-written by Clichy and Franck Salomé. A co-production between France and Belgium, it follows the 11-year-old Christophe, who tries to live up to his rigid and distant father on their family farm.
- Louis Clichy
- Franck Salomé
- Nicolas de Rosanbo
- Fabrice Delville[1]
| Iron Boy | |
|---|---|
Promotional teaser poster | |
| French | Le Corset |
| Directed by | Louis Clichy |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | Gary Clichy |
| Edited by | Vincent Tricon[2] |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | KMBO |
Release dates |
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Running time | 89 minutes[3] |
| Countries |
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| Language | French |
The film premiered at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2026, where it won the Special Jury Prize. It will be theatrically released in France by KMBO on 14 October.
Synopsis
Christophe, an 11-year-old boy in rural France, tries to live up to his father's expectations. He begins to lean over and collapse suddenly and requires a back brace. He meets a new friend, Clara.
Voice cast
- Gary Clichy as Christophe[4]
- Rod Paradot as JB[4]
- Brune Moulin as Clara[4]
- Dimitri Colas as Jean[4]
- Aurélie Vassort as Catherine[4]
- Alexandre Astier as Michel[4]
- Jean-Pascal Zadi as the priest[4]
Production
Development
The Belgian companies Beside Production and RTBF and French companies Eddy Cinéma, Regular Production, France 3, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinema produced the film.[5]
Louis Clichy worked on WALL-E (2008) and Up (2009) before returning to France. He co-directed Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (2014) and Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018) with Alexandre Astier.[6] Iron Boy originated as an animation by Clichy of a boy in a corset standing in a flat field.[7] Iron Boy was the first film Clichy directed by himself. Clichy and Franck Salomé co-wrote the film.[5]
Clichy noted that in French the word ferme (farm) comes from enfermé (locked up) and "implies a kind of withdrawal into oneself, like a brace".[8] The film is set in the Beauce region of France.[1] Clichy grew up on a farm in Beauce until he was ten and wore a back brace.[9]
Casting
Gary Clichy, the son of Clichy, voiced the main character.[10] Voice recordings were done with non-professional actors at a farm in Beauce[11][12] in January 2024.[12]
Animation
Eddy Studio, Caribara, Les Astronautes, Amopix, and L'enclume animated the film.[4] The art style uses Chinese ink brushs and watercolor painting.[13] Cécile Guillard, the film's art director, and Clichy conducted location scouting in Beauce.[11]
Soundtrack
Ouragan by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco[14] and Requiem by Gabriel Fauré are used in the film.[3] Clichy initially did not want to use a score. Ouragan was selected as Clichy's three sisters frequently listened to the song.[14]
Release
Iron Boy premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival[5] on 19 May 2026.[10] KMBO will theatrically release the film in France on 14 October.[15]
After its Cannes premiere, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights for North and Latin America, India, and Southeast Asian in a deal brokered by Nicolas Brigaud-Robert of Playtime.[5]
Reception
Critical response
Chase Hutchinson, writing for TheWrap, praised the complexity of the everyday characters in the film.[10] Siddhant Adlakha, writing for Variety, noted that despite its simple plot the film felt "aurally spiritual" due to its soundtrack.[2] Jordan Mintzer compared Iron Boy to Persepolis (2007), My Life as a Courgette (2016), and I Lost My Body (2019) in his review for The Hollywood Reporter.[3] The composition and art style was praised by Brian Tallerico in his review for RogerEbert.com.[16]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 2026 | Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize | Iron Boy | Won | [17] |
| Un Certain Regard Award | Everytime | Nominated | [17] | ||
| Annecy International Animated Film Festival | Jury Award | Iron Boy | Won | [18] | |
| Gan Foundation Award for Distribution | Iron Boy | Won | [18] | ||
| Audience Award for a Feature Film | Iron Boy | Won | [18] | ||
| Cristal Award for Best Feature | The Violinist | Runner-up | [19] |