SSF: “Garuda”

David Wolter, the creator of the great little short I posted last week — “Eyrie” — brought this week’s short to my attention when he listed it as his favorite ever. And while I’m more of a “Geri’s Game” man myself, it’s easy to see what he loves here. Wonderful imagery, simultaneously Escherish and impressionistic. And also just about a minute long. More an idea than a story, really. But that’s one of the things I really, really love about short films.

An animated short film about a young boy in India chasing after his dream. Animated at Les Gobelins in Paris by Nicolas Athane, Meryl Franck, Alexis Liddell, Andres Salaff, and  Maïlys Vallade.

Also thanks to Wolter, something that sort-of explaned the title:

I asked her about another sculpture on the table – a golden bird.  ”This is the garuda,” she said.  ”Another traditional Buddhist symbol which represents a soul’s ability to rise above difficulty and suffering and take flight in the spiritual world.”

A bit more digging revealed the garuda’s connection to both Hindu and Buddhist mythology, including the fact that it’s seen as a bit of a precursor to the phoenix. (I particularly loved the moment when he begins to transform after he breaks through the plants into the sunlight. Something about the feathery-ness and pointy-ness if his claws. Neat stuff. And also, I mentioned that it’s barely more than a minute long, right? Including credits?)

Attribution(s): All artwork, publicity images, and stills are the property of its five creators and all respective artists and/or distributors.