Playing God
2024 · 9m · IT/FR
Directed by Matteo Burani, Arianna Gheller
Genres: animation, drama, horror
Tones: dark, provocative
In a dark workshop, a Sculptor's obsessive search for perfection gives life to a clay figure who awakens surrounded by countless distorted, abandoned copies of herself.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Seven years, ninety puppets, and a lineage that runs from Starevich through Svankmajer — Burani has made a film that belongs in a museum and a festival programme simultaneously.
Seven years of obsessive stop-motion labor culminating in nine minutes of Švankmajer-level body horror about creation and abandonment.
Seven years of stop-motion for nine minutes about a sculptor and her distorted clay copies — Oscar shortlisted, Venice premiered, and dialogue-free. The discipline alone earns the look.
Festivals
- Venice Film Festival 2024
- Tribeca 2025, Best Animated Short