Within the world of animation, most experimentation occurs within short-format productions, whether they are high-budgeted commercials, low-budgeted independent shorts or something in between. The growing number of short film festivals around the world attests to the vitality of these works, but there are few other venues for their exhibition, nor are they often reviewed. As a result, distribution tends to be difficult and irregular. On a regular basis, Animation World Magazine will highlight some of the most interesting of these films.

This month:
The Heart of Amos Klein (2008), 14:40, directed by Michal and Uri Kranot (Israel). Contact: Netherlands Institute for Animation Film (NIAF); Ursula van den Heuvel, St. Josephstraat 135, 5017 GG Tilburg, The Netherlands; [T] +31 13 5324070; [E] niaf@niaf.nl

Lavatory Lovestory (2008), 9:30, directed by Konstantin Bronzit. Contact: [W] www.melnitsa.com

La maison en petits cubes (The house of small cubes or Tsumiki no ie) (2008), 12:03, directed by Kunio Kato (Japan). Contact: Robot Communications, Inc.; [T] 81-3-3760-1247 or 81-3-3760-1068; [F] 81-3-3760-1248; [E] faab@robot.co.jp

Sweet & Sour (2008) directed by Eddie White (Australia). Contact: The People's Republic of Animation Pty Ltd, ABN 99 120 086 786, 44 High Street, Kensington, SA 5068, AUSTRALIA. PO Box 177 Kensington Park SA 5068; [T] +61 (0) 8 8331 1446; [F] +61 (0)8 8364 3749; [W] www.thepra.com.au [E] sam@thepra.com.au

This Way Up (2008), 8:37, directed by Smith & Foulkes (Britain). Contact: Christine Ponzevera, Nexus Prods., 113-114 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JN UK; [T] +44 20 7749 7500; [F] +44 20 7749 7501; [W] www.nexusproductions.com, www.thiswayupmovie.com; [E]Christine@nexusproductions.com

The Heart of Amos Klein is executed in striking, stylized hand-drawn animation as we encounter flashbacks of Klein's history. © TinDrum Animation.

The Heart of Amos Klein
The first film this month is particularly resonant now, given the current state of heated conflict in the Middle East. There are no easy answers to the issues facing that portion of the world, and Michel and Uri Kranot's film, The Heart of Amos Klein, to its credit, offers an analysis of Israel's war-torn history without condescension and without judgment.

During a heart transplant operation, Amos Klein revisits significant events in his life and how these events correspond with key moments in Israeli history. The elderly Klein is a hard man, often cruel and single-minded, but as he retreats farther into his past, the viewer learns that it takes many events over the course of a lifetime to shape a man's destiny, and even the most heartless of us didn't start out that way.

Michel and Uri Kranot utilize several different techniques to reveal the story of Amos Klein, all of them to great effect. Most of the film is executed in striking, stylized drawn animation as we encounter flashbacks relating Klein's personal history. Documentary elements are incorporated as a framing sequence, with live-action footage manipulated and altered until it fits alongside original materials. The back-and-forth shuttling between the archival footage and the drawn footage is surprisingly subtle, and the complexity of Klein's story and his past struggles take on the same level of reality as the live-action sequences that surround it.

Was Klein a hero, or was he a villain? Was he looking out for the best interests of his own people, or merely looking out for himself? Could his life have taken another path, or was he locked in place from the moment of his birth? There are no easy answers to these questions, and the film does not pass judgment on Klein, whose life is as complex as the land from which he hails.