Annecy 2020 : Graduate Shorts highlights
In this new, unusual world, the online format of the Annecy International Animation Festival felt very different this year. There are many difficult decisions and challenges facing both film programmers and filmmakers as to how to best present work whilst preserving as much of the festival experience as possible. Simply put you can’t fully replicate Annecy in a digital space; Annecy is a living, breathing hive of activity, loved as much for its social elements as for its celebration of the craft and art of animation. The restriction placed on the festival that would usually be preparing for huge an influx of eager animators and fans flocking to this picturesque French town and packing its cinemas has forced them to rethink, re-organise and set up an unforeseen digital alternative. Due to the high volume of attendees at Annecy their digital ticketing system often has issue and updates that cause minor inconvenience to participants, however usually when you haven’t been able to get tickets for that sold-out Q&A or must-see feature film you have myriad of parties, eateries and, of course, the sparkling lake to ease the blow. In that regard, the online platforms offer a unique solution in that you have the potential to see absolutely everything, at almost any hour of the day from the comfort of your desk, sofa or bed.
In many ways I’m a big fan of the pick’n’mix way can now view films, the ability to skip over films you have perhaps seen before or just don’t enjoy, as well as curating your own playlist to watch at your own pace; I think I have probably seen far more than I have in any year previously at Annecy. The downside to this, as with all festivals currently, is that you really do miss the buzz around a film, as well as the unified, palpable, emotional connection among an audience. I felt perhaps mostly for the students, as Annecy is often treated as a pilgrimage for university trips, offering an opportunity to learn, gain insight into their chosen career path as well as cutting their teeth on the festival circuit, so to get a film in but not be able to physically attend seems bittersweet. The graduate films too are normally my preferred category as they offer a great opportunity to see new talent, regularly bringing an eclectic mix of themes, genres and innovative styles.
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An unusual pick in some ways, Ways of Sylvie (Verica Pospíšilová Kordić, FAMU) follows a woman struggling with the duality of roles she is expected to handle as a woman; she is a wife, a sexual being, a mother, a homemaker, an employee and a daughter. Reminiscent of the beautiful work of Børge Ring, the film itself feels as though it has been found on a dusty shelf at the back of the university archives, with the style, story and visual devices evoking an entirely different era. The interesting visual devices that represent the breakdown of the central character, along with the somewhat dated views of mental health in general, were perhaps not in keeping with modern sensibilities but it seems clear the filmmaker was tapping into the animated shorts of times gone by, by doing so it does a very solid and clever job at re-creating those past masters. The film is not exactly a comedy as the style may lead you to believe, but instead uses these elements of comical timing and a robust, cartoony art style to tap into a story of the overbearing responsibility of doing what is expected before ultimately letting go and freeing oneself.
I’m Here (Julia Orlik, Lodz Film School) is a brutally honest portrayal of caring for a loved one through their final days and how everything seems focused first on them, then their sickness and finally the space they leave in your life. This unflinching documentation of the person at the center of the conversation, still aware and awake but not necessarily able to engage, is a cruelly accurate reminder that although those around them are doing their best at trying to cope and care they are, in a way, being selfish in spite of themselves. It is too quick and easy to forget that just because the ailing person isn’t always lucid, these final moments are often painful and unpleasant. The director’s choice to never let the viewer move away from the increasingly deteriorating sickly woman, who is portrayed by a fleshy, raw puppet is almost too much. I had to take a break whilst watching (something of a unique option in this new online platform), it makes for uncomfortable but powerful viewing.
Maria Trigo Teixeira’s Inside Me (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF) is a loosely styled and flowing film dealing with the emotional turmoil and cultural attitudes around a woman’s choice to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Although the decision is clear in her mind, the emotional impact of that decision has both a current and lasting effect. Something I’ve noticed recently – and certainly in this year’s Annecy selection – is a very prominent selection of films the look at issues and themes that come from female health, fertility and pregnancy, with much consideration seemingly given to the agency of women and their bodies in the unique situations they encounter in life; Inside Me is just one of three films that look into the various viewpoints of women choosing or handling abortion especially. This is an unusual and unique opportunity to both normalise the facts and discuss preconceptions of the subject on an international level as, despite abortion being legal in many countries for years, it’s still a taboo that is generally dismissed and unrecognised alongside many female health concerns. You can hear more about the film from the director as part of our 2019 Encounters Filmmaker Q&A podcast minisodes series.
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If you are a fan of certain podcast series such as Limetown and Welcome To Night Vale or shows such as Twin Peaks and Stranger Things, known for their foreboding and somewhat supernatural story threads, then 100.000 Acres of Pine by Jennifer Alice (The Animation Workshop) is just for you – it feels like a slice from a much longer piece and I would truly love more. As a young female ranger goes into her native forest to discover what led to her brother’s early demise, she becomes entwined with the forest’s unusual, time-altering properties. If I had to pick a favourite from the graduate shorts programme this year then this would be it. Atmospheric, creepy and with an art style as intriguing as the forest it portrays.
I’m not often the biggest fan of abstract films but I feel they work best when there is a rhythm and constant visual surprises, as is the case with Catgot (Tsz Wing Ho, SCM). Mesmeric in its movement, the film reminds me of sherbet, 90s school discos, crushed velvet and that glittery nail varnish that never comes off. The sequences and the way in which the shapes move between and around one another reminds me of early film sequences such as those of Disney’s Fantasia that portrayed the feel and look of sound. This film is peak childhood fun, truly embracing the grace and joy of animation. I just want to watch it on a loop all day long.
The Wellspring and the Tower by Melinda Kádár (MOME) is a moving surrealist painting, possibly influenced by French surrealist artist Yves Tanguy. By concocting a dreamlike landscape, with far-off vistas and heavy, stormy skies, abstract forms morph and twirl in an unusual direction, superfluid animation creates an almost meditative experience, relaxing on the mind but with truly impactful moments, as we travel through a seemingly endless world that is straining and pulsing into life.
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Shergar by Cora Mckenna (The Animation Workshop) is a striking representation of the life of a reckless youth struggling to keep himself afloat in a world of petty crime, poverty and violence. A fast-paced exploration of the turmoil of a young life being forged in a rough and unforgiving city, boasting character and layout design that really amplifies the quality of this film, setting it apart and making it shine out. As Conor (the central character) runs to the outskirts of the city to escape the carnage left behind him in the centre, we too are welcomed with fresh air and peace.
Inès by Elodie Dermange (La Poudrière Ecole du Film d’Animation) is a film that focuses on a young woman as she thinks about her future and grapples with the decision to abort a pregnancy. Dermage poetic use of watercolour and visual metaphor to represents the thought process and ideas swirling in her mind before ultimately reaching a difficult but necessary decision.
I’m Not Feeling Very Well is a weird and wonderful creation by Croatian animator Sunčana Brkulj (Zagreb School of Arts), following an army of horse skull-headed wire spiders as they collide and battle their way through coloured backgrounds to a watery swell. Accompanied by an original song by CRAWANDER that replicates the crashing, swelling, uncanny movement of the thin-limbed skeleton creature, this film creates an uneasy but fully engaging film full of coloured shapes that come together in an intricate, cut-out cacophony of noise…in the best possible way.
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The frustration of teaching an easily distracted child mounts in Gaspar Chabaud’s Tête de linotte!/Airhead! – a story from La Cambre (ENSAV) of two halves – that of the struggling mother and the bird-headed child whose imagination is a constant battle to his education. Eventually the mother gives in, hoping some play and fresh air will re-focus her airheaded child, however unlikely that might be. Accompanied by sensitively drawn sequences using mixed media and a jovial form of animation performance, this classical and tasteful film showcases a sensitive tale in a charming, skillful way.
Sura (Hae-Ji Jeong, Korea National University of Arts) follows a young schoolgirl as she accompanies her friend and fellow classmate to an abortion clinic. The film looks at the shame, pain and fear that surrounds the possibility of young motherhood, told from the perspective of a friend who is at first shocked, then annoyed and then empathetic to the plight of a friend. The director has taken the usual position to remain on the outside looking in, the film deals with the duality of being both parts of the problem of shame, whilst also being all too aware just how easy one little mistake can completely upturn your life and the simple fact that it could happen to you.
Sura (Hae-Ji Jeong, Korea National University of Arts)
Roach is a Kafkaesque story by Agustín Touriño (National University of Córdoba) of a man with an unusual house guest. By day he toils away in a factory, at night he returns home to engage in the equally repetitive cycle of eating only dry rice cakes and watching TV. As the increasingly large cockroach takes his place on the couch, he realises that he too can benefit from his roommate’s newfound dexterity. Featuring cubic, angular puppets with hand-drawn faces, the film creates an ostensibly dull geometric world in which organic matter and machines live an almost symbiotic existence.
Keep your eyes on Skwigly for more Annecy Online highlights over the coming days