Raphaelle Stolz’s Animated Short ‘Miracasas’ Reinterprets Circle of Life at Annecy
variety.comJD Linville Swiss animator and director Raphaëlle Stolz (“Le Salsifis du Bengale”) has debuted her new short film “Miracasas” at Annecy, where it is in competition with 37 other animated short films as part of the official selection.Stolz employs a flowing and impressionist animation style to tell the story of Ernesto, an almost-dead soldier carried to his final destination deep in the Brazilian jungle, where villagers hope his death will usher in new life.
The film is a French and Swiss co production between Nadasy Film, a prominent Swiss animation studio, Komadoli Studio and Swiss public broadcaster RTS Radio Télévision Suisse.Showing a gift for collaboration (her short “Le Salsifis du Bengale” was an adaptation of a Robert Desnos poem), Stolz interprets and transforms Augusto Zanovello’s story with her singular style, with wide brush strokes, clever humor and a nod to classic animation.
In a story which challenges the foundations of religion and stares down the question of mortality, Stolz’s artwork is both romantic reprieve and an epiphany of light.
Variety spoke with Stolz ahead of the film’s debut at Annecy.What is the inspiration for the story of Miracasas?The story was already well advanced by Augusto Zanovello when I started working on it, and it was then transformed as the animatics progressed.
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