Technique is the super power that sets animation apart from its equally successful (but not-quite-as-fun amirite) counterpart, live action. It’s the secret sauce that turns that pretty alright-tasting, totally nourishing fried fish sandwich (look, there’s nothing wrong with live action, I swear I respect it) into the most delicious, pillowy-bunned Filet O’Fish you’ve ever goddamn had. Though the line between the two has long been blurred thanks in part to advancements in special effects, and heavier and heavier image processing, I would argue that animation still holds the title of Most Constructed Image.
Within animation, technique is itself is on as large a spectrum as they come, one that operates within its own special Cartesian system where the X, Y, and Z axes all somehow intersect each other at various points, even though that’s not possible but just further serves to demonstrate the absolute magic that is animation.
The films in this programme are rooted in the digital realm, created at least in large part with computers but in what is an increasingly commonplace way that hides or at least more seamlessly incorporates the tool as opposed to forefronting its use. Computer-generated images have typically been associated with a highly synthesized aesthetic, but this collection of films represent what I think is a new era of computer animation, one which shows a more diverse expression of what was once a pretty homogenous-looking tool, differentiated fairly cleanly between 2D and 3D without any real question which was which. These films are multi-layered in their aesthetics, each in their own way presenting a more grown-up and evolved version of computer animation.
(Keltie Duncan)
Borrachero, or the Brugmansia tree, is a powerful psychotropic plant originally used by Indigenous people in Latin America for medicinal and religious purposes. It is also used by criminal gangs as the main ingredient of the intoxicant ‘burundanga’, a dangerous substance that can induce a trance-like state and block the free-will of its victims.
This Colombian-Noir begins with a woman involved with a criminal gang that uses the Borrachero tree to rob unsuspecting victims. After a job goes wrong, she flees to her hometown but soon encounters a mysterious figure, which might be the embodied spirit of the plant.
“Borrachero” is also a genre-piece about the resilience and mysterious power of these plants.
- Year2019
- Runtime8 minutes
- CountryCanada
- PremiereCanadian Premiere
- DirectorGustavo Cerquera Benjumea
Technique is the super power that sets animation apart from its equally successful (but not-quite-as-fun amirite) counterpart, live action. It’s the secret sauce that turns that pretty alright-tasting, totally nourishing fried fish sandwich (look, there’s nothing wrong with live action, I swear I respect it) into the most delicious, pillowy-bunned Filet O’Fish you’ve ever goddamn had. Though the line between the two has long been blurred thanks in part to advancements in special effects, and heavier and heavier image processing, I would argue that animation still holds the title of Most Constructed Image.
Within animation, technique is itself is on as large a spectrum as they come, one that operates within its own special Cartesian system where the X, Y, and Z axes all somehow intersect each other at various points, even though that’s not possible but just further serves to demonstrate the absolute magic that is animation.
The films in this programme are rooted in the digital realm, created at least in large part with computers but in what is an increasingly commonplace way that hides or at least more seamlessly incorporates the tool as opposed to forefronting its use. Computer-generated images have typically been associated with a highly synthesized aesthetic, but this collection of films represent what I think is a new era of computer animation, one which shows a more diverse expression of what was once a pretty homogenous-looking tool, differentiated fairly cleanly between 2D and 3D without any real question which was which. These films are multi-layered in their aesthetics, each in their own way presenting a more grown-up and evolved version of computer animation.
(Keltie Duncan)
Borrachero, or the Brugmansia tree, is a powerful psychotropic plant originally used by Indigenous people in Latin America for medicinal and religious purposes. It is also used by criminal gangs as the main ingredient of the intoxicant ‘burundanga’, a dangerous substance that can induce a trance-like state and block the free-will of its victims.
This Colombian-Noir begins with a woman involved with a criminal gang that uses the Borrachero tree to rob unsuspecting victims. After a job goes wrong, she flees to her hometown but soon encounters a mysterious figure, which might be the embodied spirit of the plant.
“Borrachero” is also a genre-piece about the resilience and mysterious power of these plants.
- Year2019
- Runtime8 minutes
- CountryCanada
- PremiereCanadian Premiere
- DirectorGustavo Cerquera Benjumea