Salamander-like creatures copulate under the moonlight. A feast ensues, propelling a hungry group of two-legged forest dwellers to new heights.
Germany
2022
No Dialogue
Featured in:
MODES 3
Whimsical, questioning and utterly absorbing, a collection of animated work delving into worlds of wonder, subversion, and Marxist mystery. These works are fun and some re-construct ideas of animation, paying homage to experimentalists who came before.
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KAKU KAKU SHIKA JIKA fka Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey
Adapted from acclaimed manga artist Akiko Higashimura’s autobiographical manga is a funny and sharply observed coming-of-age story about the creative awakening of a master of manga.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
Blue Boy Trial
Transgender filmmaker Kasho Iizuka revisits 1960s Japan and the sensational “Blue Boy Trial,” sparked by the arrest of a doctor performing sex reassignment surgeries. With trans actors in central roles, the film powerfully illuminates buried history, identity, dignity, and resilience.
Aruku - I Walk
This meditative documentary, captures the stories of four contemporary pilgrims on the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage as they follow in the footsteps of master Kūkai, the monk who shaped Japanese Buddhism. Each is burdened, in different ways, by exhaustion, solitude, or quiet disillusionment.
How Dare You?
A bug-loving boy, a passionate classmate, and a troublemaker launch playful eco-protests against their town’s careless habits. As their missions escalate, they face real consequences in Director O’s witty, bittersweet Grand Jury Prize winner from the Toronto Japanese Film Festival.
Credits
Producer
Jonatan Schwenk
Screenwriter
Merlin Flügel, Jonatan Schwenk
Cinematography
Ferdinand Kowalke, Jonatan Schwenk
ANIM
Jonatan Schwenk, Marta Magnuska
Original Music
David Kamp
Director
Jonatan Schwenk
Jonatan Schwenk is an independent filmmaker, animator, sound designer, and storyboard artist currently based in Berlin. A graduate from University of Art and Design in Offenbach, he focuses on combining various animation techniques into hybrid forms.
His animated short Sog (2017) received nearly 40 awards and mentions (including the Annecy Cristal for Best Graduation Film) and screened at film festivals including SXSW, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb, and Flickerfest International Short Film Festival.