Fresh From the Festivals: December 2000's Film Reviews

Within the world of animation, most experimentation occurs within short format productions, whether they be high budgeted commercials, low budgeted independent shorts or something in between. The growing number of short film festivals around the world attest to the vitality of these works, but there are few other venues for exhibition of them or even written reviews. As a result, distribution tends to be difficult and irregular. On a regular basis, Animation World Magazine will highlight some of...

By Maureen Furniss | Friday, December 1, 2000 at 12:00 am

Father and Daughter. © Michael Dudok deWit.320x240 | 160x120

Father and Daughter
From Michael Dudok de Wit, best known for his Academy Award nominated film, The Monk and the Fish (1994), comes a poignant tale about a young girl whose father disappears after he departs in a small boat. In the director's words, the film shows her 'longing' for her missing parent -- her unending devotion as she returns over and over to the spot on the banks of the water where they last stood together. For anyone who has experienced a last moment like this, and many of us have, the film strikes a chord. How often does one travel back to that spot, even if it is only in one's mind?

Aesthetically, the film has similarities to The Monk and the Fish, both in terms of its simple color scheme (in this case, black, white and sepia) and even the look of its images. This time, de Wit has composed his visuals using pencil and charcoal, along with ANIMO software. The director's memories of Holland and its countryside, where he was born and raised, influenced his background design in the film, which runs 8.5 minutes in its theatrical version (slightly shorter for television).

A partly lively, partly mournful accordion score accompanies the images in Father and Daughter, which are without dialogue. Normand Roger, in collaboration with Denis Chartrand, takes music credit for the film, while Jean-Baptiste Roger was responsible for sound. Altogether, the film took two years to create, though its production was spread over four years. The film is a British and Dutch co-production, including producers Claire Jennings of Cloudrunner in London and Willem Thijssen of CinéTé Filmproductie bv in Amsterdam. Michael Dudok de Wit now works out of his London-based studio, where he has created numerous commercials. He also illustrates books and teaches animation at art colleges in England and abroad.

Maureen Furniss, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor and Program Director of Film Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. She is the founding editor of Animation Journal and the author of Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics (John Libbey, 1998).