Kensho
2015 · 4m · United Kingdom
Directed by Aaron Paradox
Genres: animation, experimental, surrealism
Tones: contemplative, mythic, surreal
A kaleidoscopic, black-and-white animated journey through time and space drawn from the dreams of London-based visual artist Aaron Paradox, sweeping from ancient civilizations and religious imagery to astronauts and deep space. Archival narration by philosopher Alan Watts guides the reverie, set to a score by Zack Hemsey.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Paradox drowns the dream-logic in Alan Watts' soothing voice and Hemsey's lush score—exactly the move that would turn something genuinely uncanny into NPR background radiation, which is precisely why I'm not touching it.
A formally rigorous meditation on the animated essay, where Paradox's kaleidoscopic impulse answers to the architectural scaffold of Watts' philosophical narration—a lineage that stretches from Oskar Fischinger through contemporary cinema's essay turn.
The single decision to keep the imagery monochromatic while letting the score and narration carry the emotional weight is what prevents this from collapsing into new-age wallpaper; that restraint is everything.
Reviews
A kaleidoscopic journey through time and space gleaned from the dreams of London-based visual artist Aaron Paradox.
Festivals
- London Short Film Festival 2016