Zoon

“A lesson in evolution. White bright tetrapod-like creatures with cute tails and faces swim out of the sea and start playfully mating. Darker, obscured animals — more human-like in appearance — arise and eat these creatures for dinner, their voices incoherent singsongy murmurs. In Jonatan Schwenk’s enjoyable, off-beat animation, feasting on the natural world is given an otherworldly sheen. The bodies ascend to the heavens and then evaporate, perhaps displaying the natural course of consumption. Little is explained, but on a pure cinematic level, there is something incredibly satisfying here.”

– Directors Notes

Selected Awards: NEF Prix Plans Animés – Festival Premiers Plans (France), Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award for Animated Film – ITFS Stuttgart (Germany), Audience Award – Hiroshima Animation Season (Japan), Jury Award European Competition – Kortfilmfestival Leuven (Belgium), Audience Award – Animatricks Animation Festival (Finland), Audience Award German Competition – Short Film Festival Cologne (Germany), Peer Raben Music Award – Soundtrack Cologne (Germany), Best International Animation Short – Galway Film Fleadh (Ireland), Craft Award for Best Sound Design – Ottawa International Animation Festival (Canada), Main Price Best Animated Short – Camera Action Film Festival (Poland), Most Original Short – Sognielettrici Intl. Film Festival (Italy), ex aequo Audience Award – Warsaw Animation Film Festival (Poland), Best Animation Award – Filmschoolfest Munich (Germany), First Place – ASIF Animation Festival (Israel), Best Original Score Award – London International Animation Festival (UK), Short Tiger Award – National German Award, Nomination Hessischer Hochschulfilmpreis – Regional German Award, Jury’s Personal Pick – Hiroshima Animation Season (Japan, by Koji Yamamura), European Film Awards 2023 Short Film Candidate