El arca (The Ark) by Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña

Chilean born and Amsterdam based animators León and Cociña don’t shy away from some good old manual labor. That includes taking turns strutting around in a self-made sweaty aluminum space suit carrying a blow-up type doll with golden hair. Coming out of the woods with their latest short El arca, inspired by the work of 17th century Renaissance man Athanasias Kirchner, their story weaves together different themes of Christianity (Adam & Eve, Noah and the Ark) and literature in an original package of a spaceman trying to procreate into a human ‘being’.

Balancing between fun, cute and slightly disturbing, this intensely creative duo manage to make their scotch taped puppets come to live and, despite their coarseness, create a believable little universe. In this world, black and red paint bubbling and slurping out of paper beaks and buttholes can abruptly turn a mood of child play into something darker.

The use of hipstamatic looking cinematography including other ‘cool’ elements such as handmade figures, poppy colours, make-shift outer space, and minimalist music could be accused of bowing to the new generation of bohemian-chic hipsters. But El arca elevates itself above this through true craftsmanship and great sensitivity for the different textures of the chosen materials and their respective effects.

A breath of fresh air in this years’ competition.

By Maartje Alders