Drijf
2023 · 15m · Belgium
Directed by Levi Stoops
Genres: animation, comedy, drama
Tones: darkly comic, surreal, tender
Two people adrift at sea on a small tree trunk fight a bloody battle for the survival of both themselves and their relationship, as the relentless silence of the ocean amplifies their inability to understand each other's desires and boundaries.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Two people bleeding out on a tree trunk at sea as relationship metaphor — Belgian animation about silence on the ocean usually means something. Behind a paywall on Vimeo, which is annoying.
Stoops's stripped-back 2D approach to a relationship-at-sea allegory is the right formal restraint for the conceit, in the productive lineage of Michael Dudok de Wit. Vimeo On Demand placement suggests evident production confidence.
15-minute Vimeo On Demand rental — 2D adrift-at-sea relationship-allegory animation with a stripped-back visual style. Miyu Distribution carrying it means international animation credibility, but I can't see the actual cut behind the paywall page; trusting the distributor's pedigree.
Reviews
Drijf is easily one of the funniest shorts I've seen in a while. Stoops crafts a darkly funny 15-minute short about a couple struggling to survive both their shared reality and their fractured connection.
Belgian Director Levi Stoops talks about his Annecy Jury Prize-winning short, drawing inspiration from disaster films and his own failed romantic relationships.
Festivals
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2023, Short Film Jury Prize
- DOK Leipzig 2023
- Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen 2023
- Hong Kong International Film Festival 2023