Renaissance, which opens in U.S. theatres on September 22, integrates film noir and motion capture to create an unusual and dramatic look, one that garnered first-time feature director Christian Volckman �Best Picture� at Annecy International Film Festival.

Rendered in flat black and white, Renaissance was animated in 3D using a cast of more than 30 actors. The plot is standard-issue suspense: in 2054 Paris, where the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur co-exist with talking billboards, glass floors and whizzing trains, Paris cop Barthelemy Karas searches for the kidnapped Ilona, a promising scientist with Avalon, an omnipresent corporation selling timeless youth and beauty. Of course, what Karas finds is corruption, espionage, betrayal and dark secrets.