Visualizing the clitoris and the penis as happy animated characters, or a female’s orgasm through Norman McLaren-esque visuals, or arses and anal juice as memories of an ex-boyfriend… Today’s (mostly young and female) animation directors don’t shy away from anything. They’re using their medium to the fullest to make their audience feel as uncomfortable as can be. But the added extra dose of humor is what makes it all the more digestible.

Get ready to enjoy (mostly the trailers of) DOK Leipzig 2016’s Top 5 of Sexually Oriented Animated Films

1. ‘Pussy’ (2016) by Renata Gąsiorowska from Poland

Crowned by the public as this year’s Audience Award winner, student film ‘Pussy’ is incredibly funny, over the top and awkward, yet manages to be cute and elegant at the same time. With its pixely lines, the film’s design is crude. During the Q&A, the director explained how she doesn’t like to hide the fact that she animates digitally. We are also treated to an abstract, Norman McLaren-esque sequence to boot. Confused yet? Good! Because you’ll experience a cocktail of feelings while watching ‘Pussy’ – a most memorable animated short that made DOK Leipzig’s audience think and talk long after its eight minute running time ended.

2. ‘Le Clitoris’ (2016) by Lori Malépart-Traversy from Canada

For many centuries, the clitoris was in a limbo of condemnation and awkward silence – but all of that ends with this incredibly funny and lighthearted graduation film. Within just a few minutes, the only documentary in this top 5 succeeds in demystifying the scientific, psychological, and social view on the female body part, both then and now. By making the clitoris and penis into cute twin-like (but scientifically quite accurate) characters, any feelings of discomfort and prudery are replaced by the witty humor and confidence that the director herself embodied during the Q&A that followed the screening of her film. The director did a lot of research prior to making her film. And I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Le Clitoris’ will go viral on the internet as well as take over many high school class rooms once it is published online next year.

3. ‘Stop Peeping’ (2014) by Wong Ping from Hong Kong

A more subtle sexual short, which it makes up for with copious amounts of perviness. ‘Stop Peeping’ is an autobiographical short that tells the story of a guy with a body scent fetish, who peeks at the girl next door during a hot summer. While that’s pretty much all I understand from watching this film, the weirdness and the mouth-watering design are more than enough to keep it interesting. The design focuses on the most important elements of the characters. For the girl these are her female body parts, like her breasts and nails, whose shapes and colors are emphasized. Director Wong Ping is self-taught – he learned animation by studying an ‘Animation for Dummies’-style book while working 13-hour days in a Chinese factory. An amazing feat that might have contributed to his incredible signature style.

Not extreme enough for your taste? Check out ‘Doggy Love’ by the same director.

4. ‘Anal Juke. Anal Juice’ (2013) by Sawako Kabuki from Japan

Beautifully confusing is ‘Anal Juke. Anal Juice,’ possibly even more so than the previous film. I re-watched this film as I was writing this top 5, and it left me confused again, so I think it’s best to leave you with this ‘explanation’ by the director. “Love (or being in love) is a wonderful thing that colors our life, but love is not always visible and sometimes is vague and ephemeral. This film is filled with love and shows the state of being carried away by love. However it is almost impossible to understand each other completely even though they loved each other very much and sometimes it causes heartbreaking. I expressed vanity of such a heartbreaking love using ceaseless metamorphosis technique. And when this film is completed, my boyfriend left me.”

5. ‘Ivan’s Need’ (2015) by Veronica L. Montaño, Manuela Leuenberger and Lukas Suter from Switzerland

A little bit tame compared to the above four films, but still pleasantly unsettling and with a nice visual sensitivity. What starts out as a cute love for dough quickly turns into a subtle touchy-feely choreography, ending up in a not-so-subtle-anymore sensual adventure. Its 2D animation design with its thin lines and smooth movements, combined with soft yet bright colors, perfectly conveys a sense of intimacy to the viewer. ‘Ivan’s Need’ screened at countless festivals since its release, picking up many awards and special mentions along the way, like Anima Mundi’s Best Student Award only last week.

As a bonus, a small extra in the form of a looping animation test by the same creators.

The post Sexually Oriented Animated Shorts appeared first on Submarine Channel.

By Tünde Vollenbroek

The Netherlands, too, bursts with talented female directors who are about to make their mark on Dutch animation. This Top 5 features trailblazers that graduated just a few years ago with notable work, and each one of them is worth keeping an eye on. All of the talents are actually working on, or have just finished, their debut animated short. *

Aisha Madu

Student short (2nd year)

Already since her studies, Aisha Madu sports her signature style of bold, graphic visuals with quirky, poetic stories. It brought her the KLIK Student Award, as well as becoming the KLIK Animation Festival‘s main illustrator, an artist-in-residency at The Animation Workshop and a display at the Dutch Design Week. Madu is currently in production with her animated series ‘Schroom’, to be released through Dutch broadcaster VPRO Dorst. And she is developing an animated crossmedia piece, ‘Objects of Affection’, which she pitched at Cartoon Springboard.

Wiep Teeuwisse

Wiep Teeuwisse’s graduation film ‘Depart at 22’ won the prestigious Annecy Student Award in 2016. It’s a tentative, semi-abstract piece that was created by undertaking a lot of visual experiments. The film premiered on Cartoon Brew last year alongside an in-depth interview. Teeuwisse’s debut animated short, ‘Nature Getaway’, is in production and promises more poetic goodness to enjoy.

Valerie Chang

Cute and charming, yet with a captivating dark edge, would best describe Valerie Chang’s work. Her graduation short ‘Pepe Luu’ landed her the Dutch Film Fund’s Wildcard – a talent development award. Chang used her wildcard to create her debut short ‘The Wolves of Mangotown’ (produced by Submarine), which served as a pilot for the ‘Pepe Luu’ kids series she’s envisioning. The series is also to be pitched at Cartoon Springboard. In the meantime, Chang is working on a Pepe Luu comic, to be published in Dutch by SubQ.

Marlyn Spaaij

Student short (2nd year)

Marlyn Spaaij earned her stripes working on some of Holland’s biggest animated feature film and series productions. Among others, she was supervising storyboard artist on the American 2D animated TV series Wellie Wishers, a storyboard artist on the 3D animated TV series of the well-known brand, Dr. Panda, and a character animator on the 2D animated feature Cobain: Montage of Heck. Currently, Spaaij is developing her debut animated short ‘Trouble in Mind’, which won the European Short Pitch. She also pitched her TV special that’s in early development, ‘De Duivelshoeve’, at Cartoon Springboard.

Anna Eijsbouts

After graduating from the prestigious Royal College of Art in England a decade ago, Anna Eijsbouts taught animation in London (Bedfordshire) and Utrecht (HKU). She debuted this year with the mesmerizing animated short ‘Hate for Sale’, based on a poem by author Neil Gaiman, that garnered 100K views and much critical acclaim. Eijsbouts is currently in early development with her next animated short, further exploring the captivating cut-out techniques showcased in ‘Hate for Sale’.

• It must be noted that this top 5 is by no means a complete list. I included 2D animation only for now. And of course there are more talents to watch. Consider this top 5 as a starting point to discover more.

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