Watch: Wonderful Animated Short ‘The Kite’ Made by Martin Smatana
by Alex Billington
January 26, 2023
Source: YouTube
Another absolutely wonderful animated short film to enjoy. The Kite is a stop-motion animated short made using paper and felt by a filmmaker named Martin Smatana, who is based in Slovakia. The film is a Czech production and was made mostly in Prague. It premiered in 2019 and played at lots of festivals back then, and is finally online for everyone to watch & enjoy. Only 12 minutes! It’s worth it! Described as a short film for children about the loss of a loved one, for all ages. “The Kite deals with the issue of death, but it does so in a simple metaphorical and symbolic way on the relationship between the little boy and his grandpa. The Kite explains that none of us are here forever and that all living creatures must die, but also to show that death doesn’t mean the end of our journey.” I always love seeing the creativity in design and the materials in a short like this, especially with the layers of paper in the grandpa’s hands. It’s all so beautiful. Watch below.
Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this one debuting online. Brief synopsis via YouTube: “Late in the summer, Grandpa gives his grandson a kite. By autumn, the old man has grown frail and thin. A strong wind blows him away. In springtime, they meet again.” The Kite (also known as “Poustet Draka“) is both written and directed by animation filmmaker Martin Smatana based in Slovakia – you can see more of his work on his Vimeo or visit his official website or follow him on IG @martin.smatana. Produced by Peter Badac (of BFILM). With cinematography by Ondřej Nedvěd, and sound design by Viera Marinová, and original music by Aliaksandr Yasinski. This initially premiered at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival and also stopped by Annecy that year, winning plenty of awards along the way. It was created mostly in an animation studio in Prague, Czechia. For more info, visit SOTW or Martin’s website. To discover more shorts, click here. How was that?
