'Steps to Fly' Argentinian/French Stop-Motion Film Has an Intriguing Trailer
From Córdoba to France, the new stop-motion animation short 'Steps to Fly' by Nicolás Conte and Rosario Carlino promises a welcome variation on the children's animation film themes. Produced by OSA Estudio and the Oscar-nominated French company Vivement Lundi! (This Magnificent Cake, No Dogs or Italians Allowed), the film has released its trailer ahead of its September international premiere at the Pixelatl Festival (Mexico) and StopTrik Festival (Slovenia/Poland) respectively.
'Steps to Fly' tells the poignant story of two birds confined to a room with a high window. The larger bird teaches the smaller one how to fly, even though he has no wings. The appearance of a mysterious briefcase will ruin Bird's plans, and will reveal to Little Bird an unexpected possibility of escape - Film Synopsis
The film project history started in 2019 (Apa Lab in Córdoba in 2019, where it received two awards). It followed with pitches and wins at Pixelatl Shortway, Animarkt Stop Motion Forum, and the MIFA Annecy Pitches (Ciclic Award). Production wrapped up in May 2024, with financial support from CNC, Procirep, and Angoa in France, the Polo Audiovisual, Córdoba Film Commission, and two universities (Blas Pascal University and UNICEN) where the directors work as professors.
Here's what director Rosario Carlino says about the film's making: "With 'Steps to Fly,' we aimed to contribute to sustainability from an artistic perspective. We worked with natural materials—wood, branches, brick—and repurposed existing objects, minimizing the need for new construction. The set was a real room, eliminating the need for intricate models. For the water effects, we used 130 kilos of recycled plastic, which was later donated to a local small business that creates furniture from recycled plastic".
Watch the 'Steps to Fly' trailer:
The film tries to encourage children to think creatively and critically, and to be somewhat skeptical of what is given to them. The trailer certainly has the curiosity and the unexpected factor written all over it.
The 9-minute short film is set to make its international debut this September in America, competing in the international category at the Pixelatl Festival (Mexico), 'a a cornerstone of the creative industries related to animation in Latin America', as Rosario Carlino states. It will then move on to StopTrik Festival ('We hope this eastern European premiere marks the beginning of a journey that will take our short film to audiences around the world,' Nicolás Conte).
'Steps to Fly' premieres at Pixelatl International Animation Festival in Mexico (3-7 September 2024), and StopTrik International Film Festival (Maribor, 25-29 September 2024).
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