Denys Colomb de Daunant

In the south of France, in a vast plain region called the Camargue, lives White Mane, a magnificent stallion and the leader of a herd of wild horses too proud to let themselves be broken by humans. Only Folco, a young fisherman, manages to tame him. A strong friendship grows between the boy and the horse, as the two go looking for the freedom that the world of men won’t allow them.

Denys Colomb de Daunant (1922 - 2006) is a writer, poet, photographer and filmmaker known for being the author and co-writer of the film Crin-Blanc (1952) directed by Albert Lamorisse. Highly symbolic character of the Camargue, aristocrat and dandy, he was also a manager and hotelier. He would lead the immemorial life of an animal herder if he did not have another passion: images. The photographic apparatus and the camera are like sensitive antennas that he spreads over his world and which seek the truth beyond appearances. Since Crin Blanc his photographs have appeared in illustrated books on five continents. Among his many films, Corrida Interdite (in competition at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival) and Le Rêve des Chevaux Sauvages (Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival) are global short film successes. The animals, the images... a single passion: that of a free life in one of the rare countries where you can still live freely: the Camargue.

Fafai, a young boy, lives with his grandfather on the island of Glamador in the Camargue. To help the old man who can no longer work, Fafai finds a job as a caretaker. He must tame wild horses. But during a storm, they escape and swim to the island of Glamador. Fafai leaves for the island to bring back the herd... Glamador is none other than the island on which Folco and Crin-Blanc end up arriving after their escape, told in Crin-Blanc. This film is the sequel to “Crin Blanc”.

The horses in Denys Colomb Daunant’s dream poem are the white beasts of the marshlands of the Camargue in South West France. Daunant was haunted by these creatures. His obsession was first visualized when he wrote the autobiographical script for Albert Lamorisse’s award-winning 1953 film White Mane. In this short the beauty of the horses is captured with a variety of film techniques and by Jacques Lasry’s beautiful electronic score.