‘Salvation Has No Name’: A Timely Stop Motion Fable Addressing Europe’s Refugee Crisis
After screening in Annecy’s short film competition last month, Joseph Wallace’s Salvation Has no Name is today’s Cartoon Brew Pick.
Wallace is a highly respected animator and stop-motion specialist who exploded onto the scene with his graduation short The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling (2011), which was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru award. He animated the music video for Sparks’ “Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)” (2017) before handling the animation sequences for Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers (2021).
Salvation Has no Name is a breathtaking fable about xenophobia that uses fantastic elements to discuss the current refugee crisis in Europe. By setting the film in a world that feels both fantastic and familiar, the short makes its point clearly without feeling heavy-handed.
Although most of the film was made using stop motion, several animation techniques are used to create a crisp and clean aesthetic that feels nostalgic with clear influences from its Czech roots. The puppets are visually stunning and although they are visually very distinct from one another, all feel part of the same world.
Salvation Has No Name was produced by Loran Dunn at Manchester-based Delaval Film. Czech studio Animation People co-produced with French production company Autour de Minuit.
