Oscar Shortlist Interviews: Directors Alexandra Myotte & Jean-Sébastien Hamel Share Their Favorite Shot From ‘A Crab In The Pool’ (Exclusive)
As awards season hits its stride, we asked the filmmakers behind each of this year’s 15 Oscar-shortlisted animated shorts to share their favorite shot from their film and explain why it’s special to them. The pieces are being published in the order that materials were received.
In this first entry of the series, we’re looking at A Crab in the Pool from Canadian directors Alexandra Myotte & Jean-Sébastien Hamel.
In a run-down neighborhood, Zoe and her little brother Theo are left to fend for themselves. A young adolescent, Zoe is a ball of anger haunted by an intimate terror. Theo, still a child, flees reality into a fantastical world. During a scorching summer day, the two children will have to burst the abscess of their relationship so as not to lose each other. The short is produced by Montreal-based Sémaphore Films.
Myotte & Jean-Sébastien Hamel spoke with Cartoon Brew earlier this year about the making of their short. Below is the duo’s favorite shot from the film and why it’s significant to them:
Cinema is all about storytelling! The scene begins with Theo gazing into the distance with his magic binoculars; he’s alone in his fantasy world, because his sister Zoe, who was there a moment earlier, left him behind. It’s early in the film, so it’s very important to understand the characters and their relationship right away.
Theo seeks his sister’s attention, but his sister wants just the opposite. There’s a conflict, but which one and why? It will be revealed at the end, but we’re already giving some clues…The sign on the post says “Lost” – but who’s really lost? The children, of course! A bit later, Theo complains that their mom would have bought him an ice cream on a hot day like this, using the past tense. Two siblings, lost without their mother, with big sister Zoe refusing to play that role to little brother Theo.
This is the crux of the story: these two initially incompatible children are left to fend for themselves in a neighborhood full of pawnshops, fast-food outlets, and sex shops, where they shouldn’t be alone. They are lost, and their quest is to find each other.
In terms of visuals, we really enjoyed ourselves here. Our imagination is the only limit, and animation is our playground. Our approach is to create a new kind of storytelling that is only possible in this wonderful medium. Anything goes: the cat on the poster comes to life and climbs down the pole, the pole tilts to become a sidewalk for children to walk on, and finally the beautiful scorching blue sky becomes a refreshing swimming pool where mermaids go for a swim and a song.
The fact that it’s all a single one-shot reinforces the narrative impact, investing viewers even more fully in the story. A long one-shot is a bit like real life, in which there’s no editing. It took us a long time to make this scene, but every time we see it again and hear the astonished reaction of the audience in the theater, we’re delighted to have created what we believe to be a beautiful moment of cinema.
