‘Slow Light,’ A Potent Story About The Dangers Of Living In The Past

Slow Light, a potent, cut-out work about the dangers of living in the past, has arrived online.

A blind boy struggles to connect with the world around him. At the age of seven, he suddenly begins to perceive light. He soon discovers he has a rare medical condition that causes light and images to take seven years to reach his retina and brain. Essentially, everything he sees happened seven years earlier. Confused by this condition and grappling with the pains of the present, he finds comfort in the simplicity and calmness of the past.

This timely and timeless wonder combines black-and-white drawings (representing the past) with color paper cut-outs (depicting the present) to reveal a man so lost in the long-gone past that he only sees what was, not what is or what might be. It is a tragic and cautionary commentary on those who let themselves drown in the sentiment and nostalgia of the past instead of being present in the here and now, however complex.

Kijek/Adamski are the creative duo Katarzyna Kijek and Przemysław Adamski. Making short films (Noise, 2011), commercials (for clients like BBC Two and Headspace) and music videos, their films incorporate live action, stop motion, computer, and traditional animation as well as elements of video post-production.

Slow Light was co-produced by Animoon sp. z o. o., COLA Animation (Portugal), Kijek/Adamski, Mazovia Warsaw Film Fund, and the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology.

To learn more about the film, read Cartoon Brew’s interview with the filmmakers.