Animalis Fabula Official Selections

Web of Love | The Courtship of a Garden Spider - Documentary Short - United Kingdom

2/22/2021

Can this male European garden spider pluck his way into a successful reproduction whilst staying off the menu? The fascinating courtship routine often overlooked in your own back garden.

Director Andrew Salter

Watching natural history documentaries nurtured my love and enthusiasm for wildlife. As film is such an accessible medium, wildlife documentaries not only have the power to inspire, but play a key role in highlighting the importance of conservation and communicating environmental issues. This is a voice I aspire to contribute to, and ultimately led to me studying Zoology.

As the world becomes increasingly urban there is a growing disconnection between the natural world and our own. I hope that by bringing nature to the many through films I can provide an important well-being boost. Combining my passion for nature and creative filmmaking and I aspire to use my academic knowledge and creative flare to tell visually interesting stories.

Director Statement Spider behaviour is fascinating and so different to our own. A macro lens created a perspective of these animals you can't experience with the naked eye. I hope this film can inspire people to get out and observe animal behaviour anyone could find if they knew what to look for. I enjoyed filming this documentary as the subjects were so charismatic. The male's determination was so apparent, writing the narration felt natural.

Anifab judge's aggregate score is 8 out of 10 with one judge noting, "Wow! What an intimate look at something that most eyes will never see. Your ability to capture this on camera is most spectacular."

Breton - Narrative Short - France

2/19/2021

1962, South of France. A wine grower is reluctant to let his elder son go away to school, even though he is at the top of his class. The boy confides in Breton, the farm horse.

Director Christophe Switzer

Christophe Switzer is a screenwriter and director of several successful short films. His work draws on a arthouse cinéma, neorealistic, tradition of Everyman directed toward the audience.

He is demanding and meticulous in the artistic direction of his films, and is an author of humanistic stories that appeal to the heart, true things, infused with humor and feeling.

Animalis Fabula Film Festival Official Selection: Breton

AniFab judge's aggregate score for Breton was 8.5 out of 10 with one judge writing, "Thank you so much for transporting me to a farm in early 60's France. What a lovely way to be transported beautifully to a place not now and not here. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Between Hunters and Foxes - Animation Short - Australia

2/14/2021

Through terror and trauma, a fox is snatched from the UK countryside and transported across the planet to a vastly different environment - Australia. After coming to terms with its vibrancy and exotic wildlife, the fox finally discovers why he has been brought here - bloodsport. Hounded down by huntsmen and brainwashed dogs across vast landscapes, there is seemingly no end to this sport, continuing to this day. Yet there is one group that stands in the way of this cruelty - the Melbourne Hunt Saboteurs.

Between Hunters & Foxes Official Selection Animalis Fabula Film Festival #AniFab

Director Ben Sinclair

Ben Sinclair began finding his passion for animation whilst at Kingston University, London. Experimenting with painterly and organic hand drawn animation, he now has 3 short films in his discography. After creating "Sabotaging Cruelty" and "Between Hunters and Foxes", the purpose of his work has begun to focus on raising awareness for environmental and wildlife issues.

After creating 'Sabotaging Cruelty' in 2019, my love for creating animation to help wildlife was ignited.

I aim for this work to raise awareness about issues and injustice against nature and to show how we can help it in such a crucial time for the planet.

#Anifab judge's aggregate score for Between Hunters & Foxes is a 9.2 out of 10 with one judge writing the following, "Between Hunters & Foxes is a beautifully animated story about a terrible thing in Australia's history that most people haven't a clue about. However, it has all the elements of a universal story with epic history, good guys, and bad guys who think they're good guys, yet influential for sure. And a nefarious industry ripe for dissecting. Sometimes the most incredible of things happen in the most mundane way right under our noses - and then become institutionalized. This short deserves the accolades its going to get."

The Last Vaquita - Documentary Short - United Kingdom

2/12/2021

With the Vaquita Porpoise on the brink of extinction, two brothers who collaborate as wildlife artists leave their studio behind and head to a small fishing town in Mexico. They board the M/V Farley Mowat to experience the front-line fight between ocean conservationists Sea Shepherd and the poachers, backed by the Mexican cartel, who are devastating countless marine species...

Director Ed Harrison

Ed is a designer and storyteller passionate about people and the planet. In 2015 he co-founded Under the Skin with his brother James. Through this creative platform, they merge printmaking and film to tell compelling environmental stories and shine a light on the world's most endangered.

Animalis Fabula Film Festival Official Selection The Last Vaquita

Director Statement After working on conservation projects through Under the Skin over the past five years, this story of the Vaquita is certainly the most tragic and complex. It is a reflection of what is happening to countless species around the world. We felt compelled to tell the tale in a fast paced, engaging yet lighthearted narrative.

AniFab judge's aggregate score is 9.8 out of a 10 with one judge making a case for inclusion in the annual benefit series, "The Last Vaquita is an eloquent addition to the emerging story of the critically endangered Vaquita. Prior to last years release of Sea Of Shadows I don't believe there was much known about this "Cocaine" of the sea that is disappearing fast. Can the world know about this species quick enough to help before it disappears forever? Congratulations and thank you to the Harrison Bros. for beating the drum loudly, beautifully. We hope to be able to include The Last Vaquita in our annual benefit showcase. Let's amplify the beat of the Bros."

Escape Velocity - Animation Short Student Project - Hungary

2/11/2021

Escape velocity: the minimum speed needed for an object to escape from the gravitational influence of a massive body, without ever falling back.

An astronaut awakens in an abandoned cave of a strange planet. An interstellar vagabond, so to say. A light path leads him to the surface, where he looks at his compass and heads for his spaceship. He keeps glancing back, treading nervously, looking afraid. He has been chased by a creature for a long time, and his only way to break free is to escape this curious planet.

Animalis Fabula Film Festival Official Selection Escape Velocity

Director - Tamás Rebák

Tamás Rebák is a hungarian visual storyteller based in Budapest, obsessed with sadness and melancholy.

The title is a technical term related to space travel for good reason. It also symbolizes a final determination, which is a hard step to take. The idea itself came from a breakup, which left a deep impression on me. Later, I tried to make the personal energies more universal. This is how the result became an allegorical story of letting go embedded in a sci-fi context.

Anifab judges have scored Escape Velocity a 9.7 out of 10 with one judge gushing, "Crazy good. Simple concept so perfectly executed. A universal story told in a very universal way. Every person in the world can relate to this story without anything else needed. I was inspired by this little animated gem. Maybe even a little misty-eyed. Brilliant."