'How' by Marko Mestrovic (2025): Film Review -Animafest Zagreb

If Terrence Malick ever wanted to find a 2D animated supplement to his grandiose 20-minute opening of 'Tree of Life' (2010), he surely found it. The new film 'How' by Croatian animation filmmaker Marko Mestrovic ('No Sleep Won't Kill You, Why Elephants, Levitation), presented at Animafest Zagreb (Grand Competition Short Film) in only its 8 minutes of screening time, has the vibes of an eschatological story and the sound feel of electronic and classical music (in that order).

The film starts with the loop sign (recently made famous by some platform) navigating into space in black-and-white, almost charcoal environment. The loop sign quickly turns into a young person's eyes, while the narrator wonders how easy (or difficult) it is to fly. This need to levitate above the ground (also found, appropriately, in 'Levitation') is the kick off point for Marko Mestrovic's film.

Yet, unlike his previous 'Raft' (2021) film, in which environmental catastrophe is celebrated with a concert, here we watch and get immersed in the process itself. From the humble beginnings, to the trees, turtles, dinosaurs, and the bomb, we get the full scale (as if in a videogame, where no shot cuts are visible) of evolution and destruction.

As familiar as it may look on paper, 'How' has a rigour and rhythm that still binds the attention, helped by Mozart's Requiem in D Minor and unsettling, eerie string music (George Hawlet). Marko Mestrovic is again the master auteur here, taking also the film's narration (apart from the direction, animation, and editing). 'How' does not present something we haven't seen before; yet, it builds its world meticulously and without false detour. The fact that the film is released in a period of advanced anxiety about our common future makes 'How' more applicable here.

"I don't know how this dusty stain in the frame becomes a thought -in my brain and your brain". 'How' spends much of its time talking about failed co-existence, and like most of Marko Mestrovic's films, asks for a higher plateau above ground to stabilize a new kind of co-existence. Less pessimistic than its theme implies, it is an absorbing and a well-developed route back to the beginning.

Watch the 'How' Trailer:

'How' by Marko Mestrovic screened in competition (Grand Competition Short Film and Croatian Competition) at the 2025 Animafest Zagreb.

Script, directing, drawing, animation, editing: Marko Meštrović
Sound design and mix: Hrvoje Nikšić
Music used: Berliner Philharmoniker & Claudio Abbado, Mozart: Requiem in D minor: Lacrimosa
Executive producers: Martina Meštrović, Marijana Veljović
Producer: Igor Grubić

Want to read more free articles like this?

Keep this professional animation journalism effort relevant and updated. Become our patron