River One
From the Archives
•
Animation, Short Films, 16-Aug-2023
The first river returns to Earth on a holographic tour. Robert Sommerlad directs “River One,” the story of a post-natural future told through 2D animation and an ambient being’s narration. Announcing the grand return of a river, exhibited for the first time to a young generation, the film weaves us through a visual map of a new world — “Miami 2,” “Mountain Dew Mountain,” and “Hypebeast Hollow,” to name a few of the notable stops. Through a series of cultural artifacts, Sommerlad’s film is a commentary on the state of entertainment, consumerism and climate change, strengthened by its imaginative visual and sonic arrangements. -Jinho Myung. Writer, Animator, Director: Robert Sommerlad. Voiceover: Zofia C.
Up Next in From the Archives
-
In Search of the Miraculous
A hauntingly beautiful 16mm short about a young man seeking adventure or escape or both. A striking collection of images that seemingly materialize out of nowhere, there is no dialogue and no need for any — the evocative visuals and soundscape fill in everything you need to know, or rather everyt...
-
This is Nuts
A man seeks answers when he finds a pair of golden truck nuts mysteriously affixed to his Honda Civic. Zach Romeo directs “This is Nuts,” an absurd account of local fate and fable told through a low-polygon animation style. While a guitar is pensively plucked, we hear a man narrate—a destructive ...
-
Difficult Woman
In a flashback, a woman is accused of over-narrativizing her life and makes that accusation into a narrative. Summer Benotwitz’s “Difficult Woman” is a two-minute snapshot of a couple amidst a peevish argument. In a Los Angeles bar, the couple (played by Lily Lady and Cameron Cowperthwait) meet f...