LOST AND FOUND
*****
The seven-minute Australian film Lost and Found was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Animated Film at the forthcoming 2019 Oscars, but unfortunately did not win a place in the final selection. Not having seen the other contenders it’s difficult to judge, but they must be truly extraordinary because Lost and Found is one of the most moving short films you will ever see and it deservedly won the Yoram Gross Animation Award at last year’s 2018 Sydney Film Festival.
The directors, Andrew Goldsmith and Bradley Slabe, have used the stop-motion animation technique to bring Slabe’s tragic screenplay to life, a notoriously time-consuming method of telling a story. The shoot alone took some 14 months to complete and the entire production process around four years from go to whoa. It’s a highly impressive accomplishment and the entire team deserves accolades for its effort. One of the pleasures of watching films is being transported to another realm and this beautiful story takes you to a place which compellingly illustrates the power of love and the effect its loss can have.
Even if you do not usually embrace animated films, make an exception for this one; it only takes seven minutes to go through an emotional wringer and stays with you long after the wool unravels. Click and watch Lost and Found here. You will be sad, but you certainly won’t be sorry. There’s more drama and emotion in this little tale than in many feature-length films.