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.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Yunan
In this haunting mood piece, Munir is a middle-aged Syrian writer in exile in Germany. In crisis, he takes himself up to one of the Halligan islands in the North Sea, a suitable place to end it all...
The Track
In the middle of a mountain forest above Sarajevo, three boys train for the Olympics in a bullet-ridden luge track abandoned since the 1984 Winter Games. An ambitious, hopeful look at the next generation striving to overcome the sins of their fathers.
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma’s film stars Kim Ho-jung as a Korean woman who flies to Winnipeg when her immigrant daughter is hospitalized there. This crowd-pleaser plays up cultural differences to hilarious effect and offers a touching take on mother-daughter tension.
It Was Just an Accident
Having offered some late-night assistance to a stranger in the wake of an auto accident, a mechanic grows convinced that he recognizes the supposed stranger’s voice as that of his torturer during a grueling prison spell.
Breaking the Waves
Kicking off our 2026 Pantheon series of the greatest films ever made, Lars von Trier's 1996 masterpiece is a devastating melodrama featuring an indelible performance from Emily Watson as the woman whose love for her husband knows no bounds.
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.