The Red Balloon

For other uses, see Red balloon (disambiguation).

The Red Balloon
French theatrical release poster
Directed byAlbert Lamorisse
Screenplay byAlbert Lamorisse
Produced byAlbert Lamorisse
StarringPascal Lamorisse
CinematographyEdmond Séchan
Edited byPierre Gillette
Music byMaurice Le Roux
Production
company
Films Montsouris
Release dates
  • 3 May 1956 (1956-05-03) (Cannes)
  • 19 October 1956 (1956-10-19) (France)
Running time
34 minutes[1]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

The Red Balloon (French: Le ballon rouge) is a 1956 French fantasy comedy-drama featurette written, produced, and directed by Albert Lamorisse. The thirty-four-minute short, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a sentient, mute, red balloon, was filmed in the Ménilmontant neighborhood of Paris.

Lamorisse used his children as actors in the film. His son, Pascal, plays himself in the main role, and his daughter, Sabine, portrays a young girl.

The film won numerous awards, including an Oscar for Lamorisse for writing the Best Original Screenplay in 1956 and the Palme d'Or for short films at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. It also became popular with children and educators. It is the only short film to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

  1. ^ "THE RED BALLOON (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 15 October 1956. Retrieved 25 March 2016.