Flow

Mathijs Demaeght's graduation film "Flow" was released over four months ago, though for some reason it seems to have re-entered into the orbit of the blogosphere after detouring in the space in which all hidden treasures reside.

A beautiful and near-seamless combination of 2D and 3D animation, Flow depicts the story of a young girl who, in the depths of mourning a lost loved-one, follows a white wolf into a mysterious realm of forests and spirits.

"Go then; there are other worlds than these."

The animation here inspires favorable comparisons to the aesthetics of such works as Journey, Sword & Sworcery, and the Gobelins student film Myosis. With the exception of backgrounds, storyboards and score, everything was created and animated by Mathijs himself. If this film is any indication, I'd say he's got a quite the promising future ahead of him.

Once Upon A Candle

Created as a Bachelor film at the Animation Workshop in Denmark, Once Upon A Candle tells the tale of a candle who realizes for the first time that he's been activated to illuminate a writer's desk. Faced with a realization regarding his very brief lifespan, he ultimately comes to the realization that it's all ultimately for a pretty good cause. Surprisingly moving despite it's somewhat goofy protagonists, I definitely give it credit for it's more 'classic' storytelling style.