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A body in the water outlines an imprint on the sea, quickly disappearing on the surface. The reflection of an intense blue becomes dark, almost black, like the depth of the ocean. The presences of the exterior reverberate offshore, shifting the harmony of its waters. Immersed in the Chañaral de Aceituno cove, children and beings who live there submerge us in water’s typical frequency and dynamics, a gait that doesn’t walk and whose progress spreads in freed.
Director
Status
Released
Original Language
EN

The list of fantastic, mythical animals compiled by Carl Linnaeus in his seminal 18th century work Systema Naturae could well be the seed of Niles Atallah’s Animalia Paradoxa – an eccentric tale set in a post-apocalyptic world that follows a strange creature struggling to survive. Dressed in rags and a gas mask, moving like an alien dancer, Animalia roams through an abandoned building – crawling and stretching across concrete, plastic, waste. She laboriously carries and fills up an array of empty bottles to enjoy a modest bath. The camera eye lingers on her with compassion and explores the architectures of trash at an agonising pace. We know in our hearts that Animalia is a human-amphibian longing for the sea…

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.