WHY HISTORY MATTERS, 2018
Synopsis (25 words):
A short animated film interpreting British film director, John Akomfrah’s contemplation about the importance of nonfiction narration on the historical scale in the context of World’s humanitarian crisis.
Twitter Blurb (100 characters):
A short animation, upon John Akomfrah’s contemplation about the importance of nonfiction narration
Facebook blurb (50 words):
A short animated film interpreting British film director, John Akomfrah’s contemplation about the importance of nonfiction narration on the historical scale following the infamous quotation of Katie Hopkins “migrants as cockroaches” in “The Sun” newspaper in context of World’s humanitarian crisis. In 2D Animation technique, digitally drawn, imitating the aesthetics of a woodcut print. Style choice is based upon the concept of printmaking – highlighting the most important parts of narration.
Full credit List
Director: Olena Maksymova
Sound: Giulio Dal Lago
Editor: Olena Maksymova
Actor: Audio extract from John Akomfrah – Why History Matters | TateShots
© Tate Digital, Tate, London, 2017
Special thanks to:
Kim Noce
Lizzy Hobbs
Shaun Clark
Tim Webb
Maryclare Foe
Alita Serra
Produced as a part of Tate’s collaboration with the London College of Communication
Director statement
Short animation film, interpreting British artist John Akomfrah’s contemplation about the importance of nonfiction narration on the historical scale following the infamous quotation of Katie Hopkins “migrants as cockroaches” in “The Sun” newspaper.
The film is developed on a collaboration basis between the University of Arts, London (UAL/LCC) and Tate Modern Museum.
The animation is structured as a reflection upon John Akomfrah’s contemplation about the importance of nonfiction narration on the historical scale following the infamous quotation of Katie Hopkins “migrants as cockroaches” in “The Sun” newspaper.
John Akomfrah (b. 1957) is a British artist, writer, film director widely known for his thought-provoking works, impregnated with careful speculation upon the historical meaning of relating to the roots, portraying the life of migrants, debating the image that imprinted in official memory.
Captivated by his critical thinking about the current political and social situation, I decided to build my animation upon the humanitarian crisis portrayal. The main idea of the film is to highlight the striking discrepancy between the effort, made by some individuals, heroically saving human lives and media, imprinting stamps upon people who barely escaped life-threatening circumstances in not-so-distant past.
In my opinion, it is of great importance to bring awareness to the devaluation of human life. To emphasise the idea of the contrast, animation aesthetic choice is building upon the use of monochromatic visual vocabulary, where black and white represent the contrast between life and death, hope and despair. Grey-scaled elements are in limited use.
The technique used is 2D Animation, digitally drawn frame-by-frame, imitating the aesthetics of a woodcut print. The choice of style is based upon the very concept of printmaking – highlighting the most important parts of narration, removing parts of non-importance.
The crucial role in film is played by the texture of elements, structured and presented in a way to “bring life” to selected images.
The film is developed on a collaboration basis between the University of Arts, London (UAL/LCC) and Tate Modern Museum.
Technical info
Length: 1min 30 sec
Size: 1920×1080 HD 16:9
Sound: Stereo
Formats Prores HQ & H264
FESTIVALS
Official Selection
2018, 16 April_ Feminist Border Arts Film Festival, New Mexico, USA
2018, 26 May_Beer Town Film Festival, Staffordshire, UK
2018, 1 June_MISTER VORKY, Serbia
2018, 27 June_XpoNorth Festival, Scotland
2018, 8 July_Hothouse Theatre’s Nottingham Film Festival, Nottingham, UK
2018, 23 July_300 Seconds Short Film Festival, Toronto
2018, 24 September_Anim!Arte – International Student Animation Festival of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
2018, 6 October_ANNY: Animation Nights New York
2018, 20 November_ANNY: Animation Nights New York_“Systems of Power and Resistance”
Selected for competition for 2019 ANNY Best of Fest
2019, 8-9 March – Lisbon Film Rendezvous, Portugal
SCREENINGS
2018, 5 February_Tate Modern, Starr Cinema
2018, 14 May_Barbican Box Music Show
2018, 20 April_Wallace Collection
