The Lovers
2023 · 13m · Sweden
Directed by Carolina Sandvik
Genres: animation, comedy, horror
Tones: dark, darkly comic, provocative, surreal
A man and a woman are having a candlelit dinner at a restaurant when the man's appearance begins to change. This stop-motion relationship horror and unromantic comedy follows the couple as they're forced to deal with escalating bodily transformations that mirror the imbalances in their relationship.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Grotesque stop-motion body horror as metaphor for power imbalance in a relationship — Locarno Special Mention, thirteen minutes of Swedish unromantic comedy. The Carolina Sandvik signature is real and visceral. Yes.
Sandvik's grotesque stop-motion body horror as metaphor for romantic power imbalance — Locarno 2023 Special Mention — sits comfortably in the Quay Brothers-meets-Cronenberg lineage. Thirteen minutes; properly unromantic.
13-minute Carolina Sandvik stop-motion relationship body-horror, Locarno 2023 World Premiere with Special Mention — grotesque practical body-horror as a metaphor for power-imbalance in romantic relationships is exactly the kind of unromantic-comedy register Sandvik does devastatingly. Top-tier festival validation.
Reviews
At first I thought this short was all about the vibes created with its excellent stop motion, character design, and gore effects, but it revealed itself to be a commentary on imbalance in relationship dynamics.
A stop motion relationship horror and unromantic comedy about a couple forced to deal with escalating bodily transformations.
Festivals
- Locarno Film Festival 2023, Special Mention
- Concorto Film Festival 2023, Jury Special Award
- Monsters Taranto Horror Film Festival 2023, Best Short Film
- Nordisk Panorama Film Festival 2024
- Fredrikstad Animation Festival 2024
- Film Fest Dresden 2024, Special Mention
- Lund Fantastic Film Festival 2024, Finn Fantastic Film Award
- Sydney Underground Film Festival 2024, Best International Short
- Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2024
- Guldbagge Awards 2024, Nomination