Tap Runner
From the Archives
•
Animation, Short Films, 18-Nov-2022
In a dystopian future, it’s one man’s job to check faucets for leakage and wastage. Paolo Chianta directs and animates “Tap Runner,” an animated sci-fi short, hand-drawn with a ballpoint pen and characterized by a melancholic spirit. His job does not permit him to actually fix the taps — that’s the plumbers' responsibility — he’s just there to identify and report. Haunted by the potential to miss a leaking faucet, the man often day dreams of skipping showers to make up for the lost water. Narrated by Chianta himself (the short is a one-man operation) in mantra mode, his voice is a solemn presence lost in a world of hyper-specialization and servitude. The film is visualized in repeating motifs of running faucets, punctuated by visions of flying cars and burning robots. -KA. Director, writer, animator: Paolo Chianta.
Up Next in From the Archives
-
Arkadya
A fascinating glimpse into one man's Ukrainian past and Brooklyn present, crisp HiDef intercuts with fleeting VHS images of what felt like yesterday but was actually 25 years ago. The film is directed by Alexander Kaluzhsky and the subject is his own father, who is photographed with great regard ...
-
And Nothing Happened
In the aftermath of an assault, a woman tries to come to terms with the violation, or just get through her day. Director Naima Ramos-Chapman uses an unexpected dose of magical realism to express a poetic response to a loss of dignity. The quiet morning at first feels mundane, but as new details e...
-
Hangtime
An eager young artist receives a disturbing introduction to the art world during the delivery of a controversial sculpture. Chester Vincent Toye directs “Hangtime,” a complex satire set in a sunny, yet ominous-feeling Los Angeles. Joe, new to the job, and his boss, Arnold, make their way to deliv...
