The National Film School of Denmark Animation Graduates: Nor Bülow Jørgensen and Acts of Slime and Stone
A stop-motion film in a strange sticky cave-like place. A searching character, who seems to be disintegrating, creates another slimy creature. We are taken on a journey that allows for many interpretations and although it may sound strange, it is both interesting and exciting to be absorbed.
A stop-motion film in a strange sticky cave-like place. A searching character, who seems to be disintegrating, creates another slimy creature. We are taken on a journey that allows for many interpretations and although it may sound strange, it is both interesting and exciting to be absorbed.
- Gunnar Wille
Nor Bülow Jørgensen's "Acts of Slime and Stone" has a claustrophobic atmosphere and a distinctive, surreal style. The distinctive pacing of each act of the film, the occasional insertion of weird live action shots, and the hollow, aquatic sound design keep the viewer off balance, creating a feeling of uncomfortable intimacy. While Jørgensen says the film is about a break-up, the story is highly subject to interpretation, and it may be better to watch it and decide for yourself.
Talking further about the inspiration for the film, Jørgensen says:
I wanted to make a film about the relationship with yourself after saying goodbye to a very important person in your life. It feels empty to lose someone, and even emptier not to be able to share that loneliness with them afterwards. Facing it alone is very difficult - and very universal. We are used to finding all the answers in relation to something else. Films are created in contact with the audience, love is something that exists between me and ___. To arrive at conclusions alone - and for that to change something internally - feels to me like trying to make a spoon fly by the power of thought. So, being allowed to "playout" or "pretend" that a blob of slime is your ex-partner makes it a little easier. Even if it's your own version of the ex, and thus, in reality, yourself. I am dreaming of directing fantastic, crazy, surprising, silly films that are deeply tied to reality when it comes to emotional conflicts and topics. I think it's important to dwell on the emotions in films. We rarely get as close to people in real life as we do in film, so I believe it's so important to make it count when we get the chance.
To arrive at conclusions alone - and for that to change something internally - feels to me like trying to make a spoon fly by the power of thought.
Directed by Jørgensen and produced by Kamma Bay Eriksen, "Acts of Slime and Stone" was an official selection of the Odense International Film Festival. We wish them much success in their animation careers!
Stills from the film
Behind the scenes
Acts of Slime and Stone
Synopsis
Lost in a Dungeon, O is looking for their ex, T. But the deeper they go, the softer their bodies become, melting both physically and emotionally. In a state of loneliness and despair, O begins to project T into a pile of slime. Together, the two of them move through the dungeon, revisiting fragmented memories of the past relationship - not only with T, but with themself, and the story they've built around who they are. Acts of Slime and Stone is a story about falling apart after a breakup and picking up the pieces of yourself.
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