Compound Eyes of Tropical (Chinese: 熱帶複眼) is a stop motion animated film by Zhang Xu-zhan. It was first presented at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and had its world premiere at the Golden Horse Film Festival in the same year. The film was awarded the Best Animated Short Film at the 59th Golden Horse Awards.[1]
Plot edit
The film was adapted from the Southeast Asian folk story The Mouse and the Deer Crossing the River (Chinese: 鼠鹿過河).[2] It is presented from the perspective of a fly's eyes, observing how the mouse and the deer navigate through the treacherous crocodile-infested river to reach the other side.[1][3]
Production edit
Compound Eyes of Tropical uses puppets made by a traditional Taiwanese paper art technique for death and funeral ceremonies and was shot by a stop motion technique frame-by-frame. The animation is around 16 minutes long and the film took three years to shoot.[4] Through a fly's eyes, the image creates a multi-perspective montage. The film uses Taiwanese folk dance to reimagine the Southeast Asian folk story, presenting a cross-cultural interpretation with multiple viewpoints, using mirrors and shadows as metaphorical symbols for various themes. It highlights the underlying structural similarities in seemingly distinct world cultures.[5][3]
Awards edit
| Year | Award | Category | Name | Outcome | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 45th Golden Harvest Awards | Best Music & Sound Design | Prairie WWWW, Feng Zi-ming | Won | [6] |
| Grand Prize | Compound Eyes of Tropical | Won | |||
| Critics Choice Award | Compound Eyes of Tropical | Won | |||
| 59th Golden Horse Awards | Best Animated Short Film | Compound Eyes of Tropical | Won | [1] | |
| 2023 | 21nd Taishin Art Awards | Visual Arts Award | Jungle Jungle—ZHANG XU zhan Solo Exhibition | Nominated | [7] |
| Animafest Zagreb World Festival of Animated Film | Special Award | Compound Eyes of Tropical | Won | [1] | |
| 25th Taipei Film Awards | Best Animation | Compound Eyes of Tropical | Nominated | [8] | |
| Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution - Performance/ Action Design | ZHANG XU Zhan, Raito LOW, CHEN Liang-jie | Nominated |
Exhibitions edit
- 2023 Roppongi Art Night[9]
- 2022 Jungle Jungle—ZHANG XU zhan Solo Exhibition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum
References edit
- ^ a b c d "繼金馬獎之後，張徐展《熱帶複眼》再獲薩格勒布國際動畫影展（Animafest Zagreb）評審特別推薦獎". 典藏ARTouch.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ Mingzhu, Yang (2023-05-28). "張徐展動畫「熱帶複眼」 東京六本木藝術夜吸睛". United Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ a b "當代紙紮偶融合臺式陣頭表演，詮釋東南亞民間故事，一窺金獎入圍動畫《熱帶複眼》幕後製作". 映CG數位影像繪圖媒體 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ Cuiyi, Lin (2023-05-27). "張徐展「熱帶複眼」 台灣紙偶動畫驚豔六本木". Liberty Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ monthly, BIOS. "當紙紮記憶遇上東南亞民俗故事──張徐展《熱帶複眼》《複眼叢林》 ｜ BIOS monthly". www.biosmonthly.com. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ^ "COMPOUND EYES OF TROPICAL" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "第21屆台新藝術獎". 台新銀行文化藝術基金會. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "台北電影節 Taipei Film Festival". www.taipeiff.taipei. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ "Taiwanese artist's animated film shines at Tokyo art fair - Focus Taiwan". Focus Taiwan - CNA English News. 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-11-11.