The award-winning ‘Datum Point’ director returns to the Ottawa festival with his latest experimental film, produced by Miyu Productions, the NFB, and New Deer, screening in Short Competition 5; OIAF 2023 runs September 20-24.
The NFB has shared with AWN the new trailer for Ryo Orikasa’s latest animated short, Miserable Miracle. Miserable Miracle marks Orikasa’s long-awaited return to Ottawa. Born in Ibaraki and now based in Tokyo, he previously received OIAF’s award for Best Experimental or Abstract Animation in 2016 for his short Datum Point, which also won the Golden Zagreb Award at Animafest Zagreb.
The film will be presented at Ottawa’s ByTowne Cinema:
- Friday, September 22, at 7 p.m. (Short Competition 5 Gala)
- Sunday, September 24, at 3 p.m. (Short Competition 5 Repeat)
According to the filmmaker, Miserable Miracle is a trip. It brings the work of highly idiosyncratic Franco-Belgian poet and painter Henri Michaux to vivid life, inspired by his poems and drawings. Masterful in vision and execution and featuring a feverish narration, Miserable Miracle explores the limits of language and perception, creating connections between sound, meaning, shapes and movement. Hand-drawn on paper in ink and paint, it propels viewers beyond Michaux’s page, mapping the human psyche to the very edges of alienation and transcendence.
Orikasa thought about adapting Michaux’s work to the screen for more than a decade. The film’s production was spread across three countries: France (Paris, Saumur), Japan (Ibaraki and Tokyo) and Canada (Montreal).
Miserable Miracle is produced by Emmanuel-Alain Raynal and Pierre Baussaron for Miyu Productions; Jelena Popović, Robert McLaughlin and Michael Fukushima for the NFB; and Nobuaki Doi for New Deer—with the support of CNC & the Ciclic Animation Residency.
In addition to Miserable Miracle, the NFB has 18 other films showing at OIAF 2023.
Enjoy the trailer:
Source: The NFB
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
