It's an incredible thing. Flow is such an unusual film, even by the standards of European animation -- the fact that this one took the Oscar is a really good sign for the future, on a lot of levels.
It's a really enjoyable film -- not sure if it's scheduled to appear in the UK yet (based on the info from its site), but it seems destined to travel a lot from here!
i hope this isn’t weird…lol…but as i was reading your Stack i am overwhelmed with Love. You all bring a reasonable explanation for why i love animation and why it is truly Art. i read, become enchanted, and i feel affirmed. i honestly cannot imagine ever having uncovered even a small fraction of what you have given me in the short time i have been following AO. thank you and bless you! 🌈💚 You Always WoW me!
Not weird at all -- this comment made our day. Thank you so much for this! We're really happy that the newsletter is so enjoyable and inspiring for you. It means a lot.
I love the article. I love lots of the European films mentioned. Summit Of The Gods is a film I rewatch every so often. Haven't yet seen Flow (waiting to watch it with my wife), but from all I've seen, it's already one of my favourite films.
As an aspiring film-maker in Africa, would be nice for Africa to take a leaf from how the Europeans do things and co-produce a film across the continent
Thank you! Really hope you enjoy Flow as much as we did.
And the co-production model definitely needs to spread. In fact, we've seen promising movement in that direction lately from African countries! The Durban FilmMart in South Africa, for example, is a networking event designed for this kind of thing. Shofela Coker (who directed Moremi in Kizazi Moto) is showcasing an animated feature there in a few months that seems to be a co-production between Nigeria and South Africa. It's super exciting stuff and we hope there are more public details soon.
Yes, I've heard good things about Durban FilmMart. Hope to attend it soon along with the film festival from Durban. Will look out for news on Shofela Coker feature! Thanks for sharing and it is exciting!
Very interesting to read about the way European films are produced, and while Flow isn't my favorite film, I do appreciate what it accomplished, being the underdog that won the award.
Its also interesting when comparing European animated features as of late to anime features that aren't part of long franchises of course, I feel like anime was once way more creative and varied in terms of what was being produced at least on its prestige side, but these days almost every film in that segment is a high school drama - its lost a lot of the creative energy that was once there in the 1980s/1990s. Films like Masaaki Yuasa's Inu Oh feel like they were an absolute miracle to be made.
I guess in a nutshell I'm really liking what's coming out of Europe, especially from France, Summit of the Gods was really great and I'm going to make sure to watch a few other recent films like Mars express.
Europe has been killing it, for sure. And the anime comparison is a valid one. Most people in European animation take a ton of influence from anime and are pushing forward the old ideas of directors like Takahata, Miyazaki, Oshii, Yuasa and so on -- and it shows in films like Summit or Mars Express or Ernest & Celestine, etc.
The corporations that control the anime industry have made it hard for artists to thrive or even survive over the past 10 or 20 years, let alone to create stuff like Summit (or the anime that Summit borrows from). Certain people and projects still break through -- we really enjoyed The Imaginary, for example -- but it's a tough situation. It's reassuring that, even if the spark does go out of the anime industry, artists somewhere else will be able to carry it forward.
Another great article, thank you so much! I can't wait to see Flow when it hits theaters in Japan on March 14th:)
Thank you! Flow is so good (and so different). Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Man. First independent animated film to do so. That's awesome.
It's an incredible thing. Flow is such an unusual film, even by the standards of European animation -- the fact that this one took the Oscar is a really good sign for the future, on a lot of levels.
Absolutely.
Fantastic achievement, especially for an independent film, and thanks for sharing; great work on Animation Obsessive!
Thanks a ton! And for sure -- Flow has really made history here. Very curious to see where Zilbalodis goes after this.
thank you - looking forward to retirement plan - hoping will come to UK soon
It's a really enjoyable film -- not sure if it's scheduled to appear in the UK yet (based on the info from its site), but it seems destined to travel a lot from here!
i hope this isn’t weird…lol…but as i was reading your Stack i am overwhelmed with Love. You all bring a reasonable explanation for why i love animation and why it is truly Art. i read, become enchanted, and i feel affirmed. i honestly cannot imagine ever having uncovered even a small fraction of what you have given me in the short time i have been following AO. thank you and bless you! 🌈💚 You Always WoW me!
Not weird at all -- this comment made our day. Thank you so much for this! We're really happy that the newsletter is so enjoyable and inspiring for you. It means a lot.
I love the article. I love lots of the European films mentioned. Summit Of The Gods is a film I rewatch every so often. Haven't yet seen Flow (waiting to watch it with my wife), but from all I've seen, it's already one of my favourite films.
As an aspiring film-maker in Africa, would be nice for Africa to take a leaf from how the Europeans do things and co-produce a film across the continent
Thank you! Really hope you enjoy Flow as much as we did.
And the co-production model definitely needs to spread. In fact, we've seen promising movement in that direction lately from African countries! The Durban FilmMart in South Africa, for example, is a networking event designed for this kind of thing. Shofela Coker (who directed Moremi in Kizazi Moto) is showcasing an animated feature there in a few months that seems to be a co-production between Nigeria and South Africa. It's super exciting stuff and we hope there are more public details soon.
Yes, I've heard good things about Durban FilmMart. Hope to attend it soon along with the film festival from Durban. Will look out for news on Shofela Coker feature! Thanks for sharing and it is exciting!
Very interesting to read about the way European films are produced, and while Flow isn't my favorite film, I do appreciate what it accomplished, being the underdog that won the award.
Its also interesting when comparing European animated features as of late to anime features that aren't part of long franchises of course, I feel like anime was once way more creative and varied in terms of what was being produced at least on its prestige side, but these days almost every film in that segment is a high school drama - its lost a lot of the creative energy that was once there in the 1980s/1990s. Films like Masaaki Yuasa's Inu Oh feel like they were an absolute miracle to be made.
I guess in a nutshell I'm really liking what's coming out of Europe, especially from France, Summit of the Gods was really great and I'm going to make sure to watch a few other recent films like Mars express.
Europe has been killing it, for sure. And the anime comparison is a valid one. Most people in European animation take a ton of influence from anime and are pushing forward the old ideas of directors like Takahata, Miyazaki, Oshii, Yuasa and so on -- and it shows in films like Summit or Mars Express or Ernest & Celestine, etc.
The corporations that control the anime industry have made it hard for artists to thrive or even survive over the past 10 or 20 years, let alone to create stuff like Summit (or the anime that Summit borrows from). Certain people and projects still break through -- we really enjoyed The Imaginary, for example -- but it's a tough situation. It's reassuring that, even if the spark does go out of the anime industry, artists somewhere else will be able to carry it forward.