Shh. is a 2001 Australian animated short film written and directed by Adam Robb, and featuring original music by Justin Marshall.[1] Robb made the 2D hand-drawn animation as his major production while studying animation under Andi Spark and Paul Fletcher at the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television.[2][3]
| Shh. | |
|---|---|
 Shh. Promo Poster | |
| Directed by | Adam Robb |
| Written by | Adam Robb |
| Produced by |
|
| Music by | Justin Marshall |
| Animation by | Adam Robb |
Production companies | VCA School of Film and Television |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 mins |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | A$1268[citation needed] |
Shh. premiered at the VCA School of Film and Television Graduate Screenings on December 12, 2001, where it won the Village Roadshow Pictures award for Best Production.[4][5] In 2002 and 2003 the film was screened internationally at over a dozen film festivals.[3] It won several major awards, including the 2002 AFI Award for Best Short Animation,[6][7][8] the 2002 St. Kilda Film Festival Audience Choice Award,[9] and the FIPRESCI Prize (Special Mention) at the 2002 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, “for the clarity and subtlety with which it...used animation to express its message.”[10][4]
Robb said he aimed to combine "the political, the personal and the bizarre" in order "to make audiences think."[3]
Plot
editA cartoonist attempts to soothe a crying baby by painting various distractions. When this fails, the cartoonist travels inside the child’s head to discover a range of intractable social issues swirling around, and responds by painting humorous, but increasingly unsatisfactory, solutions to each.[3][4]
Reception
editThe Age film critic Adrian Martin, who attended the VCA Graduate Films screening, described the film as a “fond homage to Chuck Jones” and concluded “Shh. is one of the best Australian films of the year in any format.”[2][11]
After seeing Shh. at the 2002 Melbourne International Film Festival, Jim Knox from Senses of Cinema wrote that he was pleasantly surprised at the “savagely comic” animation, describing it as “among the most intelligent and artfully composed works which will screen in this Festival.”[12]
Reviewing the finalists for the 2002 AFI Awards, Keith Gallasch at Realtime Arts Magazine named Shh. as his pick to win, writing “it was a pleasure to see an animation with political drive, focussed inventiveness, satirical wit and a vigorous playfulness with its own conventions” [4]
Jon Hoffernan at Animation World Magazine lauded Robb’s skills at hand-drawn animation but was less impressed with the attempt at social critique inside the baby’s mind, describing the film as an “uneasy cross between Chuck Jones and Jean-Luc Godard” and writing that “while suggestive and admirably ambitious” the film was “more confusing than illuminating”.[3]
References
edit- ^ Marshall, Justin (2023). "About Justin Marshall". www.justinmarshallmusic.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ a b Moss, Andrea (6 February 2002). "Hush: a film star is born". Northcote Leader. p. 19 – via Newsbank Inc.
- ^ a b c d e Hoffernan, Jon (17 April 2003). "Fresh from the Festivals: April 2003's Film Reviews". Animation World Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d Gallasch, Keith (Oct–Nov 2002). "The view from the child". RealTime Arts Magazine (51): 29 – via TROVE.
- ^ Schembri, Jim (14 December 2001). "Long, soapy serving of Bollywood pulp". The Age. pp. EG-8 – via Newsbank Inc.
- ^ Australian Film Institute (2023). "ACTAA Awards: Winners and Nominees". ACTAA website. Retrieved 11 Jun 2023.
- ^ Torre, D. & L. (2018). Australian Animation: an International History. Springer Nature B.V. p. 230. ISBN 9783030405342 – via Proquest Ebook Central.
- ^ French, Lisa (2013). Shining a Light: 50 years of the Australian Film Institute (2nd ed.). Australia: ATOM. p. 243. ISBN 1 876467 20 7 – via Academia.edu.
- ^ "St Kilda Film Festival - Past Winners". St. Kilda Film Festival. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 Jul 2023.
- ^ Annecy Festival (2023). "2002 Award Winners: Annecy Festival". Annecy Festival Website. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 23 Jun 2023.
- ^ Martin, Adrian (13 December 2001). "Graduate films establish new trends". The Age. pp. Today-4.
- ^ Knox, Jim (26 July 2002). "Daily Reports from the 51st Melbourne International Film Festival: Animation Shorts Programme 1". Senses of Cinema Film Journal (21). Archived from the original on 11 June 2023.