Fantoche
24th International Animation
Film Festival, Baden/Switzerland
1 – 6 September 2026
DE FR
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Calling Planet Earth

98’856 Frames of Bonding

If only we could dance like a flower, draw nourishment from Mother Nature’s bosom, decipher the language of the birds and live in harmony with nature! In “Birdcalls”, an attempt is made to decode the songbirds’ message using an answering machine; in “Eager”, human bodies morph into floral patterns as part of a bizarre choreography and in “La saison pourpre”, childhood is poetically evoked as a place of naturalness.

The longing for a natural connection is the motivating force behind the eight short films in this programme that, with every frame, bring us closer to nature through their powerful imagery and sound.

The longing for a natural connection is the motivating force behind the eight short films in this programme that, with every frame, bring us closer to nature through their powerful imagery and sound.

Appointments & Tickets

Wed 2.9. • 12:15
Cinema Trafo 2
Fri 4.9. • 10:00
Cinema Trafo 3
Sun 6.9. • 18:30
Cinema Trafo 1
14+ 69'

Curated by

Maja Gehrig

Supported by

SWISSLOS Kanton Aargau

Films

Abandoned Village, Mariam Kapanadze, GE 2020
Abandoned Village
An archetypal portrait of every place that has been abandoned, where the village becomes a living being, first left alone by men and then illuminated by the light of a fire that evokes a possible return, in the eternal repetition of the before and after of life and death.
Direction Mariam Kapanadze Duration 14' Language - Country Georgia Year 2020
Production Mariam Kandelaki

Weval – Someday, IE 2019
Weval – Someday
The fragility of Earth's future, the uncertainty of life are among the core concepts director Páraic McGloughlin explores in this music video for Weval, a duo from the Kompakt label.
Direction Páraic Mc Gloughlin Duration 4' Country Ireland Year 2019
Distributor Páraic Mc Gloughlin

In a Dumpster, Daria Kashcheeva, CZ 2017
In a Dumpster
What happens in the dustbin when no one’s watching? What if, unknowingly, we’re creating new life with our waste? And will that life be peaceful, or will it try to destroy us?
Direction Daria Kashcheeva Duration 2' Country Czechia Year 2017
Distributor Lenka Rapkova

Birdcalls, Malcolm Sutherland, CA 2005
Birdcalls
A telephone answering machine is activated and all the messages it contains are played. We hear the sounds of twelve different birds and see a hand trying to find signs, symbols, letters to contain what has been uttered. The symbols evolve to a language of far more than just the sounds of birds.
Direction Malcolm Sutherland Duration 5' Country Canada Year 2005
Distributor Malcolm Sutherland / Studio Tortu

The Flood is Coming, Gabriel Böhmer, GB/CH 2018_02
The Flood is Coming
A forest hermit tries to prepare for a flood, but he becomes distracted by his noisy neighbour – who happens to be the hermit's left eye. The film explores the growing anxiety about the state of nature, and our place in it.
Direction Gabriel Böhmer Duration 9' Country United Kingdom, Switzerland Year 2018
Animation Gabriel Böhmer Screenplay Gabriel Böhmer Music Nacho Palacios Sound design Steven Hoes Cut Gabriel Böhmer Production Samantha Monk Distributor Wouter Jansen

Eager, Allison Schulnik, UK 2014
Eager
A Claymation dance film by Allison Schulnik, who makes beautiful, eerie work. In Eager, fairy-like clay beings perform a discomforting choreography. First in the dark, then in a field of flowers. There the violets and roses join in and they are creepier than you can imagine.
Direction Allison Schulnik Duration 9' Country United States Year 2014
Screenplay Allison Schulnik Distributor Ian Edquist / P.P.O.W

The Purple Season, Clémence Bouchereau, FR 2023
La saison pourpre
On an island at the edge of the mangrove, a group of girlslives to the rhythm of the climate. Heloise, the youngest, is timidly discovering her new environment. Lucia, who is entering puberty, hunts wild geese to feed the group. Sarah, who is younger than Lucia, seems more and more ready to succeed her.
Direction Clémence Bouchereau Duration 9' Country France Year 2023
Production bandini films Distributor Luce Grosjean / MIYU Distribution

Oh Willy…, Emma DeSwaef, Marc James Roels, BE 2012
Oh Willy…
Fifty-something Willy returns to the naturist community of his youth to visit his dying mother. When she dies shortly after he arrives, Willy flees in confused sadness into the forest. After a rough start he finds the motherly protection of a big gentle hairy beast.
Direction Emma De Swaef Duration 17' Country Belgium, France, Netherlands Year 2012