Reflective Encounters

“A hypnotic animation, pairing dreamy visuals with its summery music. Sanchez makes use of archival footage, flickering clips of family holidays and trips to the sea. An evocative effect is created through the stitching together of these separate pieces. The footage itself is from no specific period, but in a way, this seems to fit Sanchez’s approach: what’s created isn’t an accurate vision of the past, but an imagined one, the images which might occupy the minds of a later generation.

Animation is used as a complementary component to the live-action sections, being super-imposed over each scene. Great care has been taken to match the art style to the corresponding period: shots of the 1950’s are inhabited by Disney-like creatures, replicating the industrial animation techniques of the time. Within the film’s summery delights are darker suggestions. A green witch watches over proceedings, taking apparent delight at seeing a skateboarding accident. Elsewhere, painted skulls appear in the frame’s corners, watching over ballet dancers and sunbathers. Despite this, it’s a short which leaves us with a dreamy state of mind, acting as a spirited endnote to this programme.”

— Chris Childs