As a child, Artem “Alfred” Nakache (1915-1983) was afraid of water. The youngest of 11 children in a Jewish family that emigrated from Iraq to Constantine, Algeria, Alfred eventually overcame his terror of the depths and actually excelled at swimming. He became so skilled that by the mid-1930s, he had won both local and French national competitions—Algeria was under the control of France at the time—and moved to Paris to pursue his competitive career. He would, however, be impacted by an unthinkable tragedy, indelibly linked to what he would eventually accomplish.
A short film by director and artist Florence Miailhe titled “Papillon,” which is nominated for an Oscar this year, is based on Nakache’s extraordinary story and resilience in the face of unprecedented adversity during the Holocaust.
The star’s talent earned him numerous accolades and made him popular in France despite the Nazi occupation of Paris starting in 1940. By 1943, though, attitudes had shifted dramatically. He was ousted from a tournament as a result of being Jewish, and later that year, arrested by the Gestapo along with his wife and child. They were eventually transported to Auschwitz, separated, and never reunited.
Nakache eventually moved to Buchenwald, where he was released following liberation by American troops in 1945. Afterward, he returned to swimming and continued to win competitions, and in 1948, he even competed in the Olympics in London.
Miailhe met Nakache in person as a child, she tells Animation Magazine. “At the time, I was taking swimming lessons with his younger brother, William Nakache, and at every lesson, my father never failed to remind me: ‘You know, William, he’s the little brother of Alfred Nakache, the great swimming champion!’” One day, Alfred Nakache attended the lesson, and Miailhe got to demonstrate her butterfly stroke. But it wasn’t until years later, when her curiosity led her to research Nakache’s story, that she learned about what she presumed she had been too young to be told when she first met him.
Referencing a historical story, Miailhe’s poignant rendering of Nakache’s memories and experiences is nevertheless prescient as the 2026 Winter Olympics have just kicked off. And just this past weekend, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show quickly became fodder for partisan political discourse in the U.S.—the Puerto Rican pop star has been highly critical of ICE—highlighting the current administration’s nationalist, and even white supremacist, inclinations.
“Papillon” was created using an animated painting technique, similar to Miailhe’s 2021 feature-length film Le Traversée, or The Crossing. Brushstrokes create both texture and depth as gestural swatches of blues and greens with white splotches indicate deep water with splashes or bubbles.
Nakache died while swimming in a port just a few miles from where Miailhe used to swim when she was young. In addition to the personal connection, she continues in the interview with Animation Magazine: “It all seemed obvious to me: telling this story brought together many themes that are dear to me—resilience, transmission, memory, but also political issues, such as the fate of a Jewish swimmer facing adversity.”
See the film in its entirety on YouTube.
