Jul 29, 2013

The Woman with the Long Hair" by Barbara Bakos

Barbara Bakos' Lady with Long Hair is the third film to debut at Cartoon Brew's 2013 Student Animation Festival. The film is a graduation project from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, Hungary.

The film tells the story of an old woman who relives the memories of her life hidden in her hair. Bakos tackles the difficult concept of creating a sweet and striking personality for the main character using hand-drawn animation. The character is depicted both frail with age and full of life and strength, which is especially evident when she bakes sweets.

The film moves into expressionist territory with a visual analogy that links the flow of water and the woman's long, wavy hair. The film moves toward a particularly poignant conclusion, using hair to merge the character's present reality with her memories.

Technically, the film is impeccable, with an eye for detail in every aspect of the art. Bakos makes elegant use of color to distinguish between the present and the past of his characters. He also uses cinematic language to tell the story and uses hair as a striking compositional element in numerous scenes.

Continue reading comments from the filmmaker:

The idea for this film came from my family and my grandmother. As a child, I spent most of my time with my grandparents because I did not want to go to kindergarten. So I had many wonderful memories and adventures with them. I was always amazed at how loving my grandparents were, sitting in the backyard playing with little finger puppets, drawing pictures, and baking cherry pies together. Since my grandfather passed away, my grandmother has lived alone. Her personality, emotions, memories, and her perspective inspired me to make this short film about her lifelong love and the state of mind that prevents her from letting go of the most important person in her life.

I also have a strange obsession with my hair. For several years I became obsessed with drawing sky-high hair and creating little worlds with the characters to which it belongs. I have always considered hair to be one of a person's most defining characteristics. What style and what color it should be. So when I started making this short film, I felt like I had to tie those two things together.

It is a traditionally hand-drawn animated film. We chose this technique because we were attracted to the nature of the medium, which is tactile, and we felt this was the best way to connect with the audience. Throughout the film we focus on one grandmother. She has to speak about her past and memories through her facial expressions, not through dialogue. We also used traditionally painted backgrounds and props. We then put together the final picture in After Effects.

It was the first time I had to inspire and lead so many people at the same time: animators, editors, composers, actresses, and 3D artists. I also learned how to convince people that my ideas were good, unique, and worth the hard work. The biggest challenge, however, was presenting my idea to my family and my grandmother. Seeing the look on my grandmother's face as she watched the film was truly inspiring.

I was inspired by many short films, both story-wise and visually. Jonathan Hodgson and Charles Bukowski's The Man with Beautiful Eyes, Michael Dudok de Witt's Father and Daughter, Patrick Douillon's Sunday, Knio Katt's La Maison en Petits Cubes" by Cunio Catto, and others have left a lasting impression on me. I love stories about childhood, not only childhood, but also, for example, when I go back to the place where I grew up or spent my summers, how my memories of that time work. What thoughts pop into my head when I smell a familiar smell or feel the exact same light as I did on an autumn afternoon decades ago?

I am now a freelance art director and illustrator. At the same time, I would love to work in a larger team where we can inspire each other. Also, I am currently developing a new short story and sincerely hope that it will be completed in 5 years.

Personal website: BarbaraBakos.com