78 minutes
Screened as part of NZIFF 2021
Animation Now! #2: Into the Dark
There is a deliciously seductive patina of menace and malevolence that purrs beneath the skin and directs the claws of so much fine animation.
Whether it is depicting the misshapen internal logic of the psychopath, recreating the darkest horrors no live-action camera could capture or Trojan-horsing a vision of darkness past the first line of our defences, animation is an artform perfectly suited for the purveyors of these dark visions. — MT
Clara With a Mustache 2021
Passed from hand to hand, a German banknote bears silent witness to the grim tango that is the life of those exiled by war.
Heart of Gold 2020
In the exchange of flesh for gold, a mother and son discover the value of the deeper identity that glows beneath.
Family That Steals Dogs 2020
Witnessing his brother lead a canine abduction at a funeral pushes an artist into a quiet, melodic reevaluation of his family… and all the pets he knew as a child.
Conversations With a Whale 2020
Part love letter, part shoulder-tocry- on, one filmmaker attempts to reach through the curtain of festival rejection letters to locate a warmer space.
Goodnight Mr Ted 2020
Every night when the lights go out a valiant bodyguard made of the all the wrong stuff steps up to do what has to be done.
I, Barnabé 2020
A priest haunted – or being chased - by his own demons has his life take a dramatic turn after an encounter with a mysterious rooster.
Vadim on a Walk 2021
Vadim gathers his courage and leaves his narrow, familiar cube to stumble into an unknowable world.
Happiness 2020
In a cold and chaotic world a man is searching for true happiness, hoping that the simple things can transform into something blissful.