Montreal-based animation studio E.D. Films recently shared the first trailer of their haunting short film Return to Hairy Hill (Retour à Hairy Hill). Over 10 years in the making, intricately crafted using simple paper and contemporary CG techniques, this is E.D. FILMS co-founder Daniel Gies’ animated tribute to family folklore.
This work is a fantastical fable based on the true story of a young woman struggling with who she is becoming, as her parents and siblings succumb to the northern wilderness she calls home.
As per the official website, the story began as a floating collection of inter-generational tales remembered from childhood. They morphed over the years and took the form of a single true story: Dan’s Franco-Albertan great-grandmother, his Métis rodeo star great-grandfather, and their fragile family’s breaking point.
The symbolic fiction inspired by oral traditional storytelling, Return to Hairy Hill has been executed with an in-house hybrid paper, 2D, 3D, and game engine (with their own scene track plug-in) pipeline, illustrative animation experience, and input from a number of other artists.
The film is all set to release in 2023.