Trailer: The short film “Mum Is Always Right” premieres at Go Short

The colorful warnings of childhood lead to very literal consequences in Mum Is Always Right (Mom is always right) , the stop-motion short film by Marie Urbánková, created at UMPRUM (The Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design; Prague). The director wanted to explore what would happen if, for example, touching your nose turned it into a log, or eating a seed meant a watermelon was growing in your belly.

“I have a friend who her mother said she shouldn't pee in the sea, because if she does it would burn them. Even today, at the age of 26, she doesn't dare to pee in the sea, even though she knows it doesn't make sense, ”explains Urbánková. "It occurred to me how many such nonsense statements there must be." To develop the concept, she asked around and collected about a hundred similar "childhood traumas".

“When I was wondering what to do for my thesis, I wanted to do something completely simple and fun,” he adds. “I was very inspired by the film Basta (directed by Anna Mantzaris, 2018); I admire his absolute simplicity and wit ”.

Mum Is Always Right (Mom is always right) it is animated in stop motion on a multistory table (an animation table with a series of layered glass plates that contain different elements that combine into a complete image). Urbánková used colored paper as the main material, a technique she refined for backgrounds and props in her previous film, The Concrete Jungle (2019).

“In her new film, Marie didn't work with silicone puppets, but she tried paper puppets. These do not behave as apartments but as three-dimensional puppets. In other words, paper hands move in space, not just on the glass table of the animator, ”observes Mária Môťovská, the producer of the film MAUR.

Mum Is Always Right is meant for adult viewers, but it also has a fun appeal for kids. “First of all, I'd like the film to be fun, but at the same time make us think a little, perhaps subconsciously, about what we say to children,” adds Urbánková.

The short film will have its world premiere on April 3 at the Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The Czech premiere will be at the Liberec Anifilm (10-15 May). Mum Is Always Right will also screen at the Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth (May 25-June 1).

Urbánková is a talented animator, artist and illustrator. The Concrete Jungle has been shown around the world at dozens of festivals, including Monstra, KLIK! Amsterdam (now Kaboom) and Hiroshima. For some time she has dedicated herself to the illustration of children's books and was the artist of the animated series Kosmix (2020).