Lunch with III

An interview with Marta Pajek, director of III

 Can you explain the title III a little bit?
III is a part of a film triptych entitled Impossible Figures and Other Stories. The three short animated films which form it are inspired by the concept of an impossible figure – one that you can draw according to all rules of perspective and geometry, but which is impossible to build in reality. I started the triptych with Impossible Figures and Other Stories II and then continued with III. Part I will be the last one to be made and I am working on it currently.

 What did you want to explore in the relationship between the characters?
I wanted to show the beginning and the end of a relationship as a thriller, but one evoking a thrill of excitement as much as a thrill of fear. I wanted to strip the story of romance and reveal the manipulation and violence which emerge from underneath the thick coat of sensuality.

 Can you tell us about your animation style? What other themes or genres would you like to work on?
I chose a minimalistic, hand-drawn style. I use pencil on paper and try to limit the detail only to what I find necessary. This approach allows me to mislead the audience at moments and let them fill the gaps with their imagination. It also allows the audience to include the sensuality of their own experiences into the story.

 Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
The short film format allows me to use a film language which is very dense and rich in metaphors and symbols. It requires a lot of emotional involvement on the viewer’s side, but wouldn’t work in a longer format. A little bit like poetry. That is why I chose the form of a triptych – three short animated films which explore a similar problem, but in three different scales. They can be watched separately, but together they form one composition. The particular parts create additional context for each other.

III was shown in International Competition.