Wild Summon

Wild Summon
Directed by	Karni Arieli Saul Freed
Produced by	Karni Arieli Saul Freed Jay Woolley
Starring	Marianne Faithfull
Music by	Saul Freed Peter Vilk Roxana Vilk
Production company	Sulkybunny
Distributed by	Autour de Minuit
Release date	2023 (2023)
Running time	14 minutes
Country	United Kingdom

Wild Summon is a 2023 eco fantasy animated short film directed by the filmmaking duo Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, also known as 'Karni & Saul', ^[1] and narrated by British singer Marianne Faithfull ^[2] in her final film role before her death in 2025. The 14-minute film depicts the life of a female salmon in the human form ^[3] of a free diver. Wild Summon premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film. ^[4] It has been featured in a number of international film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival ^[5] and the Raindance Film Festival, where it won an award for Best Short Film. In January 2024, filmmakers Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman came aboard as executive producers of the film. ^{[6] [7]}

On December 21st 2023, the film was shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards in the category of Best Animated Short Film but ultimately was not nominated. ^[8]

Summary

Having laid her eggs, a female salmon has died. Weeks later in the river, one of the salmon's offspring, a female, hatches out and begins her life, keeping herself safe among the pebbles.

When the seasons change, the salmon and her siblings migrate to the ocean. Along the way, the salmon gets tagged before being released back into the wild. After swimming for months, the salmon arrives in the ocean where she will grow bigger and stronger for the migration back home.

As the salmon grows into an adult, she survives predators which devour most of her siblings, a plastic bag underwater, fishermen who release her because of her tag, and disease affecting farmed salmon.

After living in the ocean for a few years, the salmon has mated and she and her school migrate back to the river where they were born. Upon successfully coming home, the salmon lays her eggs and dies.

In the water, the salmon's eggs develop, continuing the cycle of life and death.

Production

The film received funding from the British Film Institute ^[9] and was made with a combination of live footage and 3D computer animation over the course of two years. ^[4] The live footage was shot in Iceland during the pandemic, and the computer animation, produced by the Bristol-based Sulkybunny Studio, was made primarily with the Autodesk Maya, Arnold and SythnEyes softwares, and the compositing was done using Adobe After Effects. ^{[10] [4] [11]}

Reception

Since its release, the film has been selected in various festivals around the world:

Year	Festivals	Award/Category	Status	Ref.
2023	Cannes International Film Festival	Palme d'Or for Best Short Film	Nominated	[12] [4]
	Annecy International Animated Film Festival	Cristal for Best Short Film	Nominated	[13]
	Stockholm Film Festival	Bronze Horse for Best Short Film	Nominated	[14]
	Raindance Film Festival	Best Short Film	Won	[15]
	Hamptons International Film Festival	Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Short	Nominated	[16]
	Fantasy Filmfest	Get Shorty Award (Audience Award)	Won	[17]
	Blue Danube Film Festival	Best Animated Film	Nominated	[18]
	Animation Is Film Festival	Special Jury Prize for Best Short Film	Won	[19]
	Healdsburg Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize	Won	[20]

References

1. "Karni and Saul's 'Unavoidable' Partnership of Opposites | LBBOnline". lbbonline.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
2. Team, Z. F. (2023-11-24). "Wild Summon by Karni Arieli, Saul Freed: Film Review". Zippy Frames. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
3. "Wild Summon (2023) Movie Review from Eye for Film". www.eyeforfilm.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
4. "You are being redirected..." www.animationmagazine.net. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
5. "Courts métrages en compétition L'officielle". www.annecyfestival.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
6. Grobar, Matt (2024-01-08). "Oscar-Shortlisted Animated Short 'Wild Summon' Adds Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Guy Nattiv & Jaime Ray Newman As EPs". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
7. "You are being redirected..." www.animationmagazine.net. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
8. "96TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 10 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED". press.oscars.org. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
9. Munday, Rob (2023-05-26). "Wild Summon by Karni & Saul // Cannes Short // Directors Notes". Directors Notes. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
10. ""Wild Summon": Blending CG and live action for a cinematic documentation of a salmon's lifecycle | Computer Graphics World". www.cgw.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
11. "INTERVIEW: Dive In For "Wild Summon" – Animation Scoop". www.animationscoop.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
12. "WILD SUMMON". Festival de Cannes. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
13. SensCritique. "Annecy 2023 - Sélection officielle des courts métrages - Liste de 37 films". SensCritique (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
14. Wild Summon (2023) | MUBI , retrieved 2024-01-10
15. Ramachandran, Naman (2023-11-03). "'Red Herring, 'Pett Kata Shaw' Win Top Raindance Film Festival Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
16. "AwardsWatch - 31st Hamptons International Film Festival Announces Full Lineup including Closing Night Film 'Maestro'". AwardsWatch. 2023-09-14. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
17. "get shorty | fantasy filmfest 2023". fantasyfilmfest. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
18. "animation - bluedanube". www.bluedanubefilmfestival.hu. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
19. Thompson, Jaden (2023-10-25). "'Chicken for Linda' Wins 2023 Animation Is Film Grand Prize". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
20. "2023 AWARD WINNERS – Healdsburg International Short FIlm Festival" . Retrieved 2024-01-10.

External links

• Wild Summon on Vimeo
• Wild Summon on IMDb