Making a BAFTA nominated film - part 4 of 5

"Turning" by Karni & Saul is the fourth film in this year's BAFTA nomination list. Luckily, this is a film that you can see online via BBC Film Network. I say luckily because this film, more than the others, relies on visual techniques, art direction and style. All things that would be hard to convey without lengthy descriptions.



The film is a part animated / part live action fantastical drama showing a child's view of visiting relatives.

This is how the film makers describe it:

On his sixth birthday, Robert receives three beautiful old ladies in his mother's sitting room. Through his eyes, we visit the memory of this afternoon, visualized with the free spirited imagination of childhood, naive yet wonderfully dark. Ladies appear like birds, a gift scuttles across the floor, blue icing is nibbled from a magical cake, tea is sipped, lacy slips shifted, and between knobbly knees strange visions appear. The ladies weave an extraordinary tale of an emperor with no skin, and the boy himself, older and wiser, adds the finale... with a tail.

It reminded me of both "The Fall" and "Where the Wild Things Are". I would suggest that this film has been included in the nominations because of its unique style and look as well as its visual slickness and captivating grotesque characters. Despite being well made this is the film I struggle with seeing leading to longer form work. But, quite rightly, that shouldn't be a consideration here. Of course, with this film, you can judge for yourself.