Salvation Has No Name
2022 · 17m · UK
Directed by Joseph Wallace
Tones: dark, mythic, provocative, tender
A troupe of clowns performs a story about a priest tested by a mysterious refugee woman who washes ashore; when the woman breaks free to tell her own drastically different account, the tale exposes the cruelty and discrimination of those who hold power.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Clown-troupe-as-frame-narrative for a refugee allegory, with the refugee subverting the narration midway — that's a real structural idea, not just topicality. Curious.
Joseph Wallace gives the oppressors the narration first, then lets the refugee woman seize it midway — that meta-fictional inversion mounted through puppet stop-motion and cut-out animation is sophisticated political art. Grand Prix-worthy.
Seventeen minutes that initially tells the story from oppressors' perspective then has the refugee woman subvert the narration midway, distinguishing whose truth is being told through a color vs. black-and-white palette shift — that's an architectural craft choice. 60+ festival selections and two Grand Prix wins confirm the conceit works.
Reviews
A masterclass in the art of stop motion animation and storytelling, capturing the audience's attention with every meticulously handcrafted frame and captivating our hearts with its compelling narrative.
An instant classic that elevates stop-motion to harrowing realism — told from the point of view of the bad guys, the people with all the power.
Festivals
- Edinburgh International Film Festival 2022
- BFI London Film Festival 2022
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2023
- Unifrance Short Film Awards (Cannes) 2023, Jury Special Mention
- Encounters Film Festival 2022
- Aesthetica Film Festival 2022
- Uppsala Short Film Festival 2022
- Rhode Island International Film Festival 2022
- Mecal Barcelona 2022, Young Jury Award
- Animario Madrid 2022, Grand Prix
- River Film Festival 2022, Best Animated Film