International Shorts : On The Edge – The French Institute

As part of Manipulate Festival, and screened in the gorgeous interior of The French Institute, this is a series of short animated films mostly set in and around the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions focusing on the Climate Emergency and the effects on the indigenous peoples and the animals that live there. Education is the key and short films like this are just perfect for delivering bite sized thought-provoking perspectives.

Kicking us off is an enjoyable 14 minute documentary from the National Film Board of Canada, Three Thousand, by Asinnajaq. This mixes animation with archival footage to explore the cinematic representation of the Inuit. The format is light-touched but the implication is clear, this is a people whose days are numbered.

In The Power Grid (2018) by Clara Boden, a grainy film of wind and snow and grey buildings shows us the human cost of Green energy. A young woman quietly recalls her lost childhood, being brought up in the North of Sweden next to nine power stations, the giant pylons and ugly buildings, the endless construction and traffic. She sees now, looking back how people were tricked, exploited and colonialised and how some places, with a wealth of mighty natural resources are being de-natured by corporations, seemingly without any control under the guise of ‘green’ power-production.  

Without Us (2022) , is perhaps the bleakest of the offerings today, a beautifully hand-drawn 8 minute animated film from Julie Engass, showing a post-apocalyptic world, devoid of humans. Crows peck at leftover food, green shoots start to colonise the grey earth, deer frolic and bunnies hop and the planet as a whole seems to be getting on just fine with one species missing. In the final frame a shoal of fish swim through a shopping arcade.

Glenn, The Great Nature Lover (2023) provides some much needed humour, with a lighter look at our colonisation of flora and fauna.

The highlight of the collection is the closing film Wild Summon (2023), from filmmakers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed. The gloriously colourful 14 minute eco-film narrated by Marianne Faithful follows the life of a female salmon in the human form of a free diver. This was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Whilst the collection feels pertinent it also feels random and un-coordinated. But maybe that’s the whole point. As a species we always seem to act individually rather than collectively, when what we really need right now is a hive mind, a collective consciousness to pull us back from the abyss. Unlikely!

Reviewer: Greg Holstead

Reviewed: 15^th February 2025

North West End UK Rating:

Running time – 1Hr 30mins.