Wild Summon
{{Short description|2023 short film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Wild Summon
| image = Wild_Summon_Film_Poster.jpg
| director = Karni Arieli
Saul Freed
| writer =
| producer = Karni Arieli
Saul Freed
Jay Woolley
| starring = Marianne Faithfull
| music = Saul Freed
Peter Vilk
Roxana Vilk
| studio = Sulkybunny
| distributor = Autour de Minuit
| released = {{Film date|2023}}
| runtime = 14 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
}}
Wild Summon is a 2023 animated short film directed by the filmmaking duo Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, also known as 'Karni & Saul'.{{Cite web |title=Karni and Saul's 'Unavoidable' Partnership of Opposites {{!}} LBBOnline |url=https://lbbonline.com/news/karni-and-sauls-unavoidable-partnership-of-opposites |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=lbbonline.com |language=en}} The 14-minute eco-film narrated by British singer Marianne Faithfull{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Z. F. |date=2023-11-24 |title=Wild Summon by Karni Arieli, Saul Freed: Film Review |url=https://www.zippyframes.com/shorts/wild-summon-karni-arieli-saul-freed |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Zippy Frames |language=en-gb}} depicts the life of a female salmon, in the human form{{Cite web |title=Wild Summon (2023) Movie Review from Eye for Film |url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/wild-summon-2023-film-review-by-jennie-kermode |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.eyeforfilm.co.uk}} of a free diver. Premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film,{{Cite web |title=You are being redirected... |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/12/karni-arieli-and-saul-freed-discuss-the-wonders-of-their-oscar-short-listed-wild-summon/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.animationmagazine.net}} Wild Summon has been featured in a number of international film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival{{Cite web |title=Courts métrages en compétition L'officielle |url=https://www.annecyfestival.com/le-festival/competition:fr/2023:fr:cmc |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.annecyfestival.com |language=fr}} and the Raindance Film Festival, where it won an award for Best Short Film. In January 2024, filmmakers Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman came aboard as executive producers of the film.{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2024-01-08 |title=Oscar-Shortlisted Animated Short 'Wild Summon' Adds Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Guy Nattiv & Jaime Ray Newman As EPs |url=https://deadline.com/2024/01/wild-summon-short-adam-mckay-guy-nattiv-1235699525/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=You are being redirected... |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/01/partners-from-hyperobject-new-native-board-wild-summon-as-exec-producers/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.animationmagazine.net}}
On December 21st 2023, the film was shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards in the category of Best Animated Short Film.{{Cite web |title=96TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 10 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED |url=http://press.oscars.org/news/96th-oscarsr-shortlists-10-award-categories-announced |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=press.oscars.org |language=en}}
Plot
A 'human' female salmon is laying on the river shore, exhausted. Her eggs have been released and are floating on the river bank: they are almost ready to hatch. One of the newborn salmons, a female, commences her perilous journey down the river and in the open sea. Once grown, she must swim back across the ocean, to return to her birth place, upriver. Whether it's in the shape of natural predators or man-made threats, many are the obstacles that get in her way. Yet, her courage, her resilience and a magical life force will guide her to the exact same spot where she was born.
Production
The film received funding from the British Film Institute{{Cite web |last=Munday |first=Rob |date=2023-05-26 |title=Wild Summon by Karni & Saul // Cannes Short // Directors Notes |url=https://directorsnotes.com/2023/05/26/karnisaul-wild-summon/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Directors Notes |language=en-GB}} and was made with a combination of live footage and 3D computer animation over the course of two years. The live footage was shot in Iceland during the pandemic, and the computer animation, produced by the Bristol-based Sulkybunny Studio, was made primarily with the Autodesk Maya, Arnold and SythnEyes softwares, and the compositing was done using Adobe After Effects.{{Cite web |title="Wild Summon": Blending CG and live action for a cinematic documentation of a salmon's lifecycle {{!}} Computer Graphics World |url=https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/Web-Exclusives/2023/-Wild-Summon-Blending-CG-and-live-action-for-a-c.aspx |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.cgw.com}}{{Cite web |title=INTERVIEW: Dive In For "Wild Summon" – Animation Scoop |url=https://www.animationscoop.com/interview-dive-in-for-wild-summon/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.animationscoop.com}}
Reception
Since its release, the film has been selected in various festivals around the world:
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Festivals !Award/Category !Status !Ref. |
| rowspan="9" |2023
|Cannes International Film Festival |Palme d'Or for Best Short Film |{{Nominated}} |{{Cite web |date=2023-05-26 |title=WILD SUMMON |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/wild-summon/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Festival de Cannes |language=en-US}} |
| Annecy International Animated Film Festival
|Cristal for Best Short Film |{{Nominated}} |
| Stockholm Film Festival
|Bronze Horse for Best Short Film |{{Nominated}} |
| Raindance Film Festival
|Best Short Film |{{won}} |
| Hamptons International Film Festival
|Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Short |{{Nominated}} |
| Fantasy Filmfest
|Get Shorty Award (Audience Award) |{{won}} |
| Blue Danube Film Festival
|Best Animated Film |{{Nominated}} |
| [https://animationisfilm.com/ Animation Is Film Festival]
|Special Jury Prize for Best Short Film |{{won}} |
| [https://healdsburgfilm.com/ Healdsburg Film Festival]
|Grand Jury Prize |{{won}} |
References
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbe_1lsZ2VI Official Trailer] on YouTube
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27658326/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_wild%2520summon Wild Summon] on IMDb
Category:2023 animated short films
Category:3D animated short films