The Albatross
2016 · 7m · Australia
Directed by Alex Jeremy, Alex Karonis, Joel Best
Genres: animation, drama, fantasy
Tones: contemplative, mythic, surreal
A fantastical animated drama unfolds around the symbolic presence of an albatross and the characters drawn into its story.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Three directors collaborating on a symbolic albatross fable sounds like the kind of well-intentioned festival circuit stuff that puts me to sleep, and honestly, the premise doesn't fight that instinct—it leans *into* the mythic weight instead of upending it.
The formal restraint here is remarkable: three distinct directorial voices managed into a singular tonal register, the albatross functioning as visual anchor across a narrative that trusts symbol over explanation—this is craft aware of its lineage in animated allegory.
What matters is the decision to use the albatross itself as the compositional constant while the drama unsettles around it; that anchoring choice, the way it holds the frame steady while everything else spirals, is what transforms a premise that could be precious into something genuinely affecting on a small canvas.