From the two BROU sessions, which consisted in international animation selections, the screenings I liked most were “Guisado de Galinha” (2008), by Joana Toste, from Portugal, the Oscar winner for the Best Animated Short Film “La Maison en petits cubes” (Tsumiki no ie) (2008), by Kunio Kato, and “Procrastination” (2007), by the English John Kelly.

The first one, “Guisado de Galinha”, had a really simple characters design and consisted in a musical based on a fado, a popular Portuguese song. I loved the way the credits were done: the fado’s singer would sing the names of the artists and would mention the job each one had done.

Kunio Kato’s work was excellent; no wonder he’s been awarded the Oscar. His short film was very sensitive and moving. It’s about an old man living in a house he’s built on top of his former ones because of the rising water level. One day he drops his pipe into the water and dives to retrieve it. As he swims deeper and deeper into the water and through his previous houses, he recalls his past with his wife and his daughter. Here are some scenes of the short film and its music, which was also very touching.

La Maison en petits cubes
















John Kelly’s short was an entertaining reflection about what procrastination is and I felt quite identified with it. Because putting off our chores is something we all probably do and much more often than we'd like to.

There was also a funny short by Alexei Alexeev, from Hungary, called “KJFG No 5” (2007). It's a simple animation done in Flash, but the gag is quite funny.

Finally, I'd like to underline Alfonso and Jonás Cuarón's "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism", short based on Naomi Klein's book with the same name. Not because of the animation but for its content, since Naomi Klein, jounalist and economist, is characterised for her anti-globalisation works and for explaining important facts general media tend to avoid. I'll try to avoid procrastination and get me some time to read her book, which my father has at home.