Alex Fitch talks to the directors of two new cutting-edge animated films which mix animation and live action footage to beguiling effect. In a Q and A recorded at SCI-FI-LONDON, the London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film, Zoltan Sostai discusses his film Cycle, a spiritual successor to Tron and The Matrix, which sees a nameless astronaut trying to escape a bleak urban landscape which twists and loops back on itself, creating an endless maze he can’t find the exit from.
Also, British animator Paul Bush talks about his first feature film Babledom which looks into the layers of history and potential future that are unearthed by explorers of the modern city. Mixing a dialogue between two residents of a dystopian city in the style of Chris Marker’s La Jetée, with visuals that recall the architecture of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Babledom is an evocative look at mankind’s varied relationships with the crowded spaces we inhabit.
Still from Babledom and poster for Cycle
Cycle was released in Hungarian cinemas on 21st February 2013 following its London première at SCI-FI-LONDON in 2012 / Babledom is released in UK cinemas on 8th March 2013. (Expanded podcast of an episode of I’m ready for my close-up, broadcast 01/03/13 on Resonance 104.4 FM)
