Nodnarb Namztruk
2022 · 3m · USA
Directed by Ani Manukyan
Genres: animation, drama, experimental
Tones: provocative, surreal, tender
A nonlinear animated short following a young woman on a surreal journey of self-discovery and sexuality, told through the dreams, fantasies, and memories she experiences while sleeping. The film challenges conventional portrayals of female characters through dreamlike, fragmented storytelling.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Three minutes, title is "Brandon Kurtzman" spelled backwards, nonlinear dream-sexuality animation — the title-as-cipher gimmick is doing all the work for a film with 215 views and 2 subscribers. Pass.
Title as cryptic backward-spelled reference is the kind of self-private gesture that signals either personal cinema or self-indulgence — three minutes makes it hard to tell which. The nonlinear dream-logic premise is well-trodden territory.
3-minute student-feeling nonlinear animation, 215 views, 2 subscribers on the director's channel — title is 'Brandon Kurtzman' backwards. Sub-three minutes of fast-edited dream-sexuality animation is the size where a personal-cryptic reference reads as confidence or affectation; without seeing it I can't tell which.
Festivals
- Cinequest San Jose Film Festival 2024, Best Short Animated Film
- Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival