Zoon

There is something in the air in the dark woodland depths of Jonatan Schwenk’s exquisite animation Zoon. For the miraculous glowing axolotl that emerges from the inky water in the film’s opening shot, it would seem to be passion. For the hungry human-like beings that subsequently happen across a group of the amorous little creatures fornicating on the bank of a swamp, and fancy them as a delicious snack, it is something quite different. In a similar vein to Schwenk’s 2017 student film, Sog, Zoon is a microcosmic reflection on the relationship between humanity and the natural world with an enchanting magical premise.

When the beings consume an axolotl, they begin to float into the air. Intoxicated by the rush of this new, gravity-defying freedom, they continue to gorge on them, frolicking further into the sky with considerable joie de vivre. The aesthetic adds to the sense of wonder, with a combination of intricate puppetry, stop-motion animation and hand-drawn elements giving the film a suitably enigmatic quality.

Contained within the delight of this 4-minute marvel, however, is an allegorical morality tale about our insatiable rate of consumption. Even as we may find the floating beings – and the scale of human advancement that they arguably represent – strangely moving, we are also reminded of our species’ impact on the environment and the looming repercussions. In the smiley willingness of one axolotl to be eaten, Zoon’s ambiguity allows us either to see the destruction of a naively trustful animal or an eerie pre-knowledge of the reprisals to come as Mother Nature seeks to restore some sense of balance.

Director, producer: Jonatan Schwenk
Screenplay: Jonatan Schwenk, Merlin Flügel
Music, sound: David Kamp
Production company: Miyu Distribution (France)
Venue: Sundance Film Festival (Short Film Program)
No dialogue
4 minutes