“Skhizein” by Jérémy Clapin

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Jérémy Clapin’s Skhizein, a poignant short that grows on me every time I see it, is now available for online viewing. It’s also available for purchase in a limited edition of 500 dvds.

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  • http://www.rossphillips.net Ross

    Just ordered it, very curious to see their making of. It is a great little film.

  • Erin Siegel

    Oh I loved this piece! Saw it at the Animation Show of Shows last year and it still resonates with me. Really clever piece of fiction.

  • Iritscen

    I’m hesitant to even post without seeing any comments before mine, since I’m not sure I get it. But I’ll go ahead and opine that this is a creative way to depict suffering from an illness that separates you from the world others live in.

    The artist also did a great job making a visual space that felt consistent even though the characters seem to be 2D vector and the environment is a 3D CG space; I didn’t spend more than a few seconds thinking about it because it fit together so well.

  • Jim

    Ordered my copy last night. Not cheap, especially considering shipping across the Atlantic, but it feels good to support films like this. Really, really liked it.

  • Ben

    Finally! This was my favorite film in last year’s Animation Show of Shows. I may have to purchase it…

  • http://www.elliotelliotelliot.com Elliot Cowan

    Yes – this film is an absolute cracker.

  • http://www.cappabianca.blogspot.com Joe

    This was just a treat, for my eyes and mind. I love a story that bends my brain backwards a bit, thanks for posting it, Loved it.

  • Tiwa

    got robbed at Ottawa last year.

  • http://www.blessedwithbeverages.com Andy Kennedy

    Finally! I’ve been waiting for this to show up online since I saw it in Ottawa last year.

  • Sara H.

    I really love this short, I also saw it at the Animation Show of Shows and it was one of the best, which is saying a lot because that whole show was brilliant.

  • http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/ Nina Paley

    This is one of my favorite shorts ever. It makes me cry every time. It moves me as only the best art can.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/Artemekiia Madison Russell

    It’s times like these that I lement being on an art student’s budget, I would dearly love to get my hands on that dvd! The visuals meshed so brilliantly with the narration, and the moody color scheme was brilliant, muted without being boring. I’d really love to know what programs they used as well because clearly the sets are 3d models, but the characters look like 2d animation. I suppose they could’ve used a 2d shader? I don’t know enough about Maya to speculate though. I definitely love seeing somewhat silly concepts portrayed in such a serious light though.

    I recall that there was an episode of WNYC’s Radiolab that touched on displacement disorders like this, it was called “Where Am I?”

    http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2009/04/20/where-am-i-rebroadcast/

  • pizzaforeveryone

    bravo.

    i do miss seeing this in the theater though. The shift to surround sound voiceover during the credits was always my favorite subtlety.

  • http://kateburck.blogspot.com Kate Burck

    This was one of my favorite films from Ottawa last year. I remember searching all over for it after the festival before giving up, and then seeing this year’s festival reminded me of it. I’m so glad it’s online now! It’s really incredibly smart and moving.

  • Alan MacEachern

    Truly a fantastic, beautiful looking piece of animation.

    However it depresses me that a great animation like this only gathers a handful of comments whereas a half-assed(baited) post about ‘A Christmas Carol’ sends the animation community into a frenzy of hateful comments. All we seem to get excited and passionate about at the moment is the negative aspects of the industry…thats pretty sad.

  • Wolfgang

    Fantastic and Brilliant short film!!.

    Wondeful story and wonderful style in the characters and backgrounds.

  • rextherunt

    A wonderful film that could only be animation… And I very much agree with Alan above that’s tragic that growling at Chrismas Carol or Cartoon Network will stir up more passion.

  • http://www.janetperlman.com Janet Perlman

    I love this film. And that amazing music – put it to anything and it brings a tear to the eye. I tried the end music with Christmas Carol – try it – Magoo seems so pathetic – he shouts and is almost blind. He’s angry at the world and can only find solace in his little gold coins. And Bob Cratchit is unbearably tragic. Then you play the other music and it’s a stupid cartoon again.

  • ben colbourn

    fantastic short, really well thought out and different from what’s usually done in animation. to me it looked like only his head was 2d, and his body was 3d

  • Melissa P.

    I’m happy to see how many awards this film has won. It truly is gorgeous. I agree with pizzaforeveryone, there are some effects that I miss that you can only get from the theater, like the moment when the meteorite first strikes him. I still remember the theater going completely silent. A moment I’ll never forget.

  • uli

    Beautiful, really very beautiful…

  • http://anikey.blogspot.com/ Albert

    One of my favorites!

  • http://www.arielvillaverde.com ariel

    This is one of my favourite shorts in quite some time. Congratulations Jeremy.

  • http://www.wamickley.com WAM

    Love this animation.
    It speaks to me in so many ways. Just placed my order for the DVD.

  • Prince Charming

    BEAUTIFUL!

  • http://jakehatesyou.blogspot.com jake armstrong

    JESUS CHRIST.

  • m|3

    This is amazing work! It’s now my favorite short for this year. Great story, timing and color grading.

  • Steve Brown

    Even though House of Small Cubes is a great film, I really thought Skhizein should have won the Oscar last year. It’s great to be able to see it again.

  • Eric Paulsen

    Wonderful story and animation. It kind of made me think of the independant film “Primer” for both its story telling and its twists. Excellent.

  • http://www.ushev.blogspot.com Theodore Ushev

    Beautiful jewel of animation, well crafted, and smart. One of the rare good contemporary animated short films…

  • http://www.david-higgins.com David Higgins

    Wow – a great short. Crosses both my hobbies – asteroid research and animation. Got to get myself a copy of this film :)

  • Frumious Bandersnatch

    Oh sod off indy videos. Christ! Weird and original doesn’t equal good. I can’t stand the waves of bleak landscapes, quiet voices and murky dystopias.

    The main feeling I get from watching these is despair. Not the empathic kind, or one brought on by the creator’s skillful work. But despair at what goes on in the minds of others and how they could possibly find the motivation to blast this crap at my screen.

  • http://tomar.biz/ Tomer Bar-Shlomo