“One Minute Puberty” by Alexander Gellner

Berlin-based artist Alexander Gellner created One Minute Puberty recently as part of his graduation project from HTW Berlin. The school didn’t have an animation department, but Gellner tells me they allowed him to make this film provided he didn’t ask his professors how to animate. The results, created over the span of seven weeks, speak for themselves. I loved every moment of Gellner’s energetic piece, which is actually One Minute and Forty One Seconds Puberty, though understandably that title isn’t as catchy. There’s nothing inherently original about showing the phases of puberty, but Gellner’s approach distinguishes the film. The metamorphic state of the character and rapid-fire scenes visually reflect the raging hormones that characterize this stage of our development and the inherent confusion of trying to sort out all the changes in a person’s body and mind. Track and sound design by Niklas A Kröger.