Elastika

A GIRL NAMED ELASTIKA from Guillaume Blanchet I Filmmaker on Vimeo.
You may be interested in animation but stop yourself from doing anything by telling yourself, "You need really expensive software to any animation that anybody would want to watch, and I'll never have it." Then, because you can't get really expensive software, or even know what that software would be or be able to use it even if you did have it, you wind up doing nothing.

Fair enough.



Well, that might be true in general, but it is not true always. Case in point: "A Girl Named Elastika," which you can watch above.

This is a  stop-motion animation short by film-maker Guillaume Blanchet that he composed from a very inexpensive and common medium: office supplies.

The plot of our office-supply adventure is simple: a girl leaves home and adventures around the world. We view this adventure through different placements of thumbtacks and rubber bands on a small bulletin board.

It is an ingenious way to sidestep the whole "I don't have the software!" argument and has won Blanchet numerous awards from animation festivals. All it took was a lot of creativity and ... a trip to Staples. Oh, and the ability to make girly voice sounds.

This "A Girl Named Elastika" animation actually says more about all of our powers of interpretation and enjoyment than it does anything special about office supplies. It is our power of imagination that is being harnessed, not just Blanchet's, which shows what a true meeting of the minds looks like in animation.

A list of the many prizes this video has won (so far) is at the bottom of this page if you have a few minutes to go through them all.

Now, what were you saying about how you couldn't do any animation because you didn't have the proper tools?

As a special bonus, we present another video from Blanchet, "The Man Who Lived on His Bike," below. It's not animation, and it is in French, so you are warned. However, it is quite amusing, and it has won a boatload of awards, too.

THE MAN WHO LIVED ON HIS BIKE from Guillaume Blanchet I Filmmaker on Vimeo.
List of awards for "A Girl Named Elastika."

PRIZES
The jury, grand prize/ Very Short Int'l Film Fest. 2013, Paris
Audience Award/ Prix de Court Pathé 2013, Lausanne
Best film for Children/ Animateka Fest.2013, Slovenia
Audience favorite animation short/ Palm Springs Int'l Shortfest
Special mention, Spirafilm Prize, Off-Courts Trouville 2013
Honor. mention/ BeFilm Festival 2013, New York
- - - - - - - - - - - -
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2013
International Leipzig Festival 2013
Melbourne International Animation Festival 2013
BFI London Film Festival 2013
Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2013
Big Cartoon Festival 2013, Moscow
Anima Mundi 2013, Brazil
Anima Bruxelles 2014
Milano Film Festival 2013
Krok International Animated Films Fest 2013, Ukraine
Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Fest. 2013
KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival 2013
Reel2Real Film Festival 2013, Vancouver
Guanajuato International Film Festival 2013, Mexico
Lahore International Children's Film Fest. 2013, Pakistan
MECAL Int'l Short Film Festival 2013, Barcelona
World Festival of Animated Film 2013, Bulgaria
DC Shorts 2013, USA
Fantoche International Film Festival 2013, Switzerland
Aye Aye Film Festival 2013, France
Edmonton International Film Festival 2013
ArtFilmFest, International Film Fest 2013, Slovakia
Illustrative Art Film Festival 2013, Germany
Brasil Stop Motion Film Festival 2014
Milwaukee Film Festival 2013
Nevada City Film Festival 2013
1 Reel Film Fest. for Bumbershoot 2014, Seattle
Imagine Science Film Festival 2013, USA
Los Angeles Comedy Shorts 2013
Cleveland Int. Film Festival 2013
Starz Denver Film Festival 2013
Fantasia International Film Festival 2013, Montréal
Fantasia Tout Court - maTv 2013, Montréal
Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois 2013
Festival de Cinéma de la Ville de Québec 2013
Festival Vitesse Lumière, Québec
Festival de Cinéma des Gens d'ici 2014, Quebec
Sommet du Cinéma d'Animation de Montréal 2014
Festival Images en Vue 2013, Québec
Animex Int'l Fest of Animation 2014, UK
Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival
Dawson City International Short Film Festival 2013
Boulder Int.Film Festival 2013, Colorado
Rotterdam Int'l Film Festival 2013
"Canadian Shorts" by iShorts 2013, Czech Republic
Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay 2013
Cinémagine 2013, Canada
Projection Talent tout court! 2013, Clermont-Ferrand
Projection Regard-Sodec 2013, Clermont-Ferrand
La Petite École du Film Court 2013, France
Les Nuits Magiques Fest. 2013, France
BD Festival International de Lausanne 2013
FILMETS Badalona Film Festival 2013
Animated Dreams 2013, Estonia
St. Louis International Film Festival 2013
El Meu Primer Festival 2013, Barcelona
Se-ma-for Film Festival 2013, Poland
Illustrative Art Festival 2013, Berlin
Bradford Animation Festival 2013, UK
San Jose International Short Film Fest. 2013
Seattle's Music and Arts Festival 2013
Seattle Children's Film Festival 2013
Animage Film festival 2013, Brazil
Newport Beach Film Fest. 2013, USA
New Zealand Film Festival 2013
Expotoons Animation Festival 2013, Argentina
MECAL Chile Festival 2013
Even. of Award-Winning Short Films, San Diego
Animax 2014, Tel Aviv
Redcat Int'l Children's Film Fest. 2014, L.A.
TAAFI 2014, Toronto
Petaluma Film Fest. 2014, San Francisco
Tournée des écoles du Festival Très Court, France
St Kilda Film Fest. 2014, Australia
Best of KLICK 2014, Amsterdam


Awards for "The Man Who Lived on His Bike"

WINNER
Audience award - VeloBerlin Film Festival, 2013
Audience award, best adventure sports film - Durango Film Fest 2013
Best Canadian or Int'l film - Dawson City Intern. Film Fest. 2013
Honor. mention - Disposable Film Fest. 2013, San Francisco
Audience award - Sisački eko film festival 2013, Croatia
Best film, jury - Boston Bike Film Festival 2012
Golden Helmet Award - Filmed by Bike. 2013
Best short film - Francophone Film Fest. of Kalamazoo, 2012
Best sports film - Filmets Badalona 2013
Audience award - Bike Reel Film Festival 2012
Audience award, best music video - Red Rock Film Fest. 2013
Audience award - NDG Off The Wall 2012, Montréal
Special Prize Marvin&Wayne, Subtravelling 2013, Barcelona
- - - - - - - -
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Festival International des Très Courts 2013, Paris
CBC TV Show "Short Films Face Off" 2013
Fantasia 2013, Montreal
Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois 2013
DC Shorts 2013, USA
Espoo Cine International Film Festival, Finland
BCN Sports Film Fest 2013, Barcelona
Banff Mountain Film Competition 2013
Wild&Scenic Film Festival, Nevada
WSFF "A Climate of Change" Film Tour 2013
WSFF Honolulu, Hawaii 2013
Spin Festival 2013, London
Adventure Movie Awards 2013, Italy
Edinburgh Festival of Cycling 2013
New Zealand Film Festival 2013
Clockenflap Festival 2012, Hong Kong
Chromatic 2012, Montreal
PixelPops 2012, Cardiff Design Festival
Favorite Films Festival 2012, Berlin
Clips of Faith 2012, USA Tour
Festival du Cinéma de la Ville de Québec 2012
Best of Creativity 2012, Barb.com
Wrocław Bike Travellers 2012, Poland
Nitehawk Dailymotion, Brooklyn
Adventure Film Festival 2012, Colorado
Festival Images en vue 2012, Québec
Mountain Film in Telluride 2012
Crested Butte Film Fest 2012, USA
UK Green Film Festival 2013
Alice Springs Bicycle Film Festival 2012
Rail City Roadshow Film Festival 2012, Montreal
Rose Found. for Communities & Environment, USA
Kalamazoo Bike Fest 2012, Michigan
Under The Arches, London 2012, UK
Canmore Community Cruisers Film Fest 2012, Alberta
Hygienic Art Film Fest 2012, USA
Port Townsend Film Fest 2012, USA
Bike Fest. 2013, The Projects, Melbourne
Regard sur le Court Métrage au Saguenay 2013
EcoFocus Film Festival 2013, USA
Flatpack Festival, United Kingdom
SPASM Festival 2012, Montreal
SPASM Best of Fest. Nuit Blanche 2013, Montréal
Earth Port Film Festival 2013, USA
Cyclofestival Genève 2013
Shorts Attack 2013, Berlin
Dakota Digital Film Festival 2013
Festival Film Court de Mont Tremblant 2013
Rochester Film Festival 2013, UK
Spin Festival 2013, London
Jam in Jubilee 2013, British Columbia
16ème Nuit du Court, Lausanne
SKYE Bike Best 2013, Scotland
Stirling Cycle Hub 2013, Scotland
Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, UK
SiciliAmbiente Documentary Film Festival 2013, Italy
SixSixty Short film 2013, London
Travel Film Festival 2013, New Delhi
Kendal Mountain Festival 2013, UK
Kashmir Int'l Film Fest. 2013, India
Lookout Wild Film Festival 2014, USA
Shot with GoPro Hero

2020