World of Tomorrow
2015 · 17m · USA
Directed by Don Hertzfeldt
Genres: animation, comedy, sci-fi
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, surreal, whimsical
A little girl named Emily is contacted by a third-generation clone of herself from the distant future, who takes her on a mind-bending tour through time and space, exploring themes of memory, mortality, and what it means to be human.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Hertzfeldt's stick figures saying the most upsetting things a four-year-old has ever been recorded saying — sci-fi melancholy in crayon form. The fact that Emily Prime's babble is the script's spine is genuinely innovative.
Hertzfeldt's stick figures channel something close to Beckett through the unscripted voice of a four-year-old, and the result is one of the most affecting science-fiction films of the decade. Vimeo gates it for purchase, which is reasonable.
Hertzfeldt's stick-figure crudeness against deeply philosophical sci-fi - the gap is the joke and the heart. Using his four-year-old niece's unscripted dialogue as the protagonist's voice is the casting decision that makes it sting.
Reviews
One of the greatest short films in the history of movies.
A hauntingly beautiful rumination on today's tech-oriented times; on the treacherous swamps of memory; and on the importance of appreciating our lives in the moment.
Festivals
- Sundance Film Festival 2015, Grand Jury Prize - Short Film
- SXSW Film Festival 2015, Best Animated Short
- Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2015
- Academy Awards 2016, Nominee