Shorts

The Very Essence of the Finalist Animation Shorts from Quirino Awards

The Very Essence of the Finalist Animation Shorts from Quirino Awards

This year the Quirino Awards presents the following shorts as the finalists in the short film category:

- Tie (Alexandra Ramires, Portugal/France) | Under the gloomy sun, two characters look for adaptation.
- Homeless Home (Alberto Vázquéz, Spain/France) | No one can escape their roots, however rotten they may be.
- Roberto (Carmem Córdoba Gonzáles/ Spain) | 15 years have passed, and Roberto is still in love with his neighbor, but she prefers to hide ashamed of her body. With his art and an old clothesline the only ways of communication, Roberto has a plan to push his beloved to face her monsters monsters monsters at once.

They are undoubtedly three productions of high technical and narrative quality. Roberto in 3D shows the story of a love between neighbors, which hides something more serious, using a more cartoon aesthetic.

Tie has a more sophisticated look that resembles metal engraving, addressing situations of adaptation among people.

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While Homeless Home has images that reminded me of Phil Mulloy's shorts; they present troubled souls in a lost place and far from everything safe. Both Tie and Homeless Home are also nominated for Best animation design of Ibero-American animation work award. I do not want to do any spoiler ... You have to watch them!

However, what caught my attention is that the three (each in its own way) have something in common: morbidity, whether it is explicit or explicit. Animation is even the best way to show what people do not want to see.

And this is interesting in itself, because art is always the result of its environment and moment in history. Whether by reflex or elucidation, it advocates the near future. That was definitely apparent and  happened with this category selection at the 2021 Quirino Awards.

Each of the films presents the discomforting situations in its story's climax via its particular narrative and aesthetic. The characters (of the three shorts) need to reach a good equilibrium: to accept some changes, to accept themselves, and “adapt” - Tie's motto - and make their "realities" and possibilities easier (More on Tie at Zippy Frames -forthcoming).

Living what we all have experienced during this year and a half, I consider these shorts like tools for thinking about our human condition. It is like making a type of intimate catharsis; each one who watches these animation shorts will identify with one of their characters or with some situation shown on screen. These films have a profound signification viewed from our own contemporary standpoint, and involve plenty of the transitions that our societies are going through.

Nominations
Tie - Best Ibero-American animation short film  + Best animation design of Ibero-American animation work
Homeless Home - Best Ibero-American animation short film  (+ Best animation design of Ibero-American animation work)
Roberto - Best Ibero-American animation short film

contributed by: Eliane Gordeeff

Quirino Awards takes place 27-29 May 2021 in La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain)

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Zippy Frames is the premier online animation journal promoting European and Independent Animation animation since 2011

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