Awards season is upon us, and there are many treasures waiting to be found in the shorts category of competitions. Animated shorts in particular provide a vast assortment of creative brilliance. We’re paying particular attention to one cognitively stunning piece that was shortlisted for the 87th Academy Awards in 2015. The short, created by Hungarian artist, Réka Bucsi, is called “Symphony no.42,” possibly after Mozart’s or Hayden’s corresponding composition. (Beethoven’s “Symphony No.9” makes a brief appearance towards the end, incidentally.) The film is produced by Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and animated by a team of various artists including Bucsi.
The concept for “Symphony no.42” is simple: We get a total of 47 odd glances at humans and nature interacting in stimulating, and often darkly humorous, situations. The film is presented like an online fable of sorts, except with no clear moral to be learned among its 47 scenes. Instead, “Symphony no.42” seems satisfied with provoking surreal experiences that might make you think, “Huh, maybe a giant floating hippo with a Triforce on its forehead is haunting my nightmares…” Bucsi has said that with this animated short, “It was important to create a temporal and spacial structure that can tie together all the different locations and characters, so that the viewer can travel seamlessly.”
From a Margot Tenenbaum-esque girl with a monkey photographer on her shoulder to a giant purring cat that pets you, the bundle of these wacky moments is certainly presented in a cohesive manner. We’d give this short film all the awards! You can follow Réka Bucsi’s work on her Tumblr or Vimeo accounts.
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Video and Image Credits: Réka Bucsi
