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Filmstill Compound Eyes of Tropical

Compound Eyes of Tropical

Re dai fu yan
Zhang Xu Zhan
International Competition Animated Film 2023
Animated Film
Taiwan
2022
17 minutes
without dialogue
Subtitles: 
None

A Malay fairy tale tells of Sang Kancil, the wily mouse deer that crosses a river by persuading the crocodiles in it to form a bridge for him. Inspired by this story, Zhang Xu Zhan, one of Taiwan’s most distinguished young artists, in his latest stop-motion animation depicts the crossing of the river as a breakneck shaman dance in the deep jungle where acrobatic skill replaces cunning. Spurred on by drummers on the bank, guided by ringing bells, the costumed creature, half human, half animal, leaps from crocodile back to crocodile back, always in danger of losing more than feathers.

Despite the overwhelming complexity of the animated scenery, the hand-made papier-mâché figures recall the seductive power of traditional Javanese Wayang shadow theatre. Its fixed backdrops are transformed here into an extremely fluid world of continuous transformation and metamorphosis reflected in oddly shaped mirror shards, giving us an idea of what it would be like to see through compound eyes.

Christoph Terhechte

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Zhang Xu Zhan
Script
Zhang Xu Zhan, Chi Chun Feng
Cinematographer
Zhang Xu Zhan, Kuan Yu Chen
Editor
Zhang Xu Zhan
Producer
Yu Chu Chan
Sound
Prairie WWWW, Zi Ming Feng
Score
Prairie WWWW
Animation
Zhang Xu Zhan, Raito Low, Liang Jie Chen
Winner of: Mephisto 97.6 Audience Award