Colony
2022 · 13m · USA
Directed by Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma
Genres: animation, fantasy, horror
A pregnant myrmecologist becomes dangerously obsessed with the queen of her leafcutter ant colony, growing hostile toward her partner as her pregnancy progresses and the line between her scientific research and her own transformation blurs in disturbing ways.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Pregnant myrmecologist fuses identity with the leafcutter queen — the biology metaphor is unsubtle, but cut-out folk-horror plus the actual ant facts is enough to keep me watching.
Garcia-Fernandezsesma uses leafcutter ant biology — males existing solely to reproduce — as an unflinching metaphor for the erasure of female identity in pregnancy. Folk-horror cut-out animation as feminist body-horror; the conceit lands.
Using leafcutter ant biology — specifically that males exist solely to reproduce — as the literal pregnancy metaphor via folk-horror 2D cut-out animation. 13:22 with Glas Animation Grant support and TOHorror Best Animated Short, the entomological frame gives the body-horror real conceptual rigor.
Reviews
It is the way she blends folk horror elements with the universal elements of her storyline that make her film so emotionally effective. Despite the quite insane premise of the film, the emotional journey of the protagonist is incredibly compelling and through both the visual style and the metaphors it creates, it becomes easy to find elements of the narrative relatable.
Festivals
- TOHorror Fantastic Film Fest 2022, Best Animated Short Film
- Animatricks 2022
- MONSTRA – Lisbon Animation Festival 2022
- Athens ANIMFEST 2022
- Animocje 2022
- Animest 2022
- NFFTY 2023