''Salvation Has No Name'' is a 2022 stop motion animated short, written and directed by Joseph Wallace. Told through a dynamic mixture of color and black with a dramatic narrative and international all-female voice cast, it is a unique animated film which explores themes of

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

and the

refugee crisis A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of Forced displacement, forcibly displaced persons. These could be either internally displaced person, internally displaced, refugees, asylum ...

. The film features the voices of

Itziar Ituño Itziar Ituño Martínez (born June 18, 1974) is a Spanish actress, who performs in her native Basque language as well as in Spanish. She is best known for her role as Inspector Raquel Murillo in the Spanish television series ''La Casa de Papel' ...

(

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Money Heist ''Money Heist'' ( es, La casa de papel, link=no, , ) is a Spanish heist crime drama television series created by Álex Pina. The series traces two long-prepared heists led by the Professor (Álvaro Morte), one on the Royal Mint of Spain, and ...

) and Yasmine Al Massri (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's Quantico). The short is produced by Loran Dunn for Delaval Film and Exec Produced by

Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...

and Lowri Roberts through their company RAPT and co-produced by Autour de Minuit in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and Animation People in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. The film is funded by the BFI NETWORK, France Televisions, the

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a ...

and the Czech Film Commission. Filmed at Aardman Animations studios in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and Media City in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, the film features an original score by Kit Wilson, sound design by David Kamp, with casting by Heather Basten. In August 2022, the refugee organisation

Choose Love ''Choose Love'' is the 14th studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 2005. Background and recording Recorded throughout 2004 into 2005, using the same team that created ''Vertical Man'' (1998) and ''Ringo Rama'' (2003), Starr produced the set wi ...

was announced as the official charity partner of Salvation Has No Name with the intention to use the film as a tool to highlight the plight of refugees through their humanitarian work.

Plot

A troupe of clowns gather to perform a story about a Priest and a refugee but as their misguided tale unfolds, the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to fray.

Cast

as Malabarista / Priest * Yasmine Al Massri as Woman *

Anna Savva Anna Savva is an actress who has appeared in many British TV shows since 1985. Anna plays series regular, Lugaretzia, across all four series of Simon Nye's ''The Durrells'' in 2016 She originated the role of Martha in the world-premiere of ...

as Pierrot / Gossip * Katrina Kleve as Piccolo Clown / Tailor * Elisabetta Spaggiari as Ringmaster / Bookkeeper * Barbara Sotelsek as Grande Clown / Boucher

Reception

The project was the winner of the 2017 Visegrad Animation Forum pitching competition. The film had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 13 August 2022 and the North American premiere took place at Rhode Island Film Festival. The film has been since selected at numerous film festivals worldwide including Encounters Short Film Festival, Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, Cinanima, London International Animation Festival and Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival. Salvation Has No Name was nominated for the McLaren Award for Animation at the Edinburgh Film Festival, received the Special Mention for Best Independent Short Award at Stop Motion Montréal in September 2022 and won both the Grand Prix for Best Short Film and the Best Direction award at Animage in November of 2022. Specialized animation critic website Zippy Frames said: "This risqué film (but with the story's beats firmly rooted in solid narration) had a spellbinding, Gothic trailer and a subject matter of a disillusioned priest falling in love with a refugee. Both narrative framework (a Greek chorus comments on the actual story) and bold imagery join each other in a calculated play". In January 2023, it was announced the film was long-listed for the British Short Animation BAFTA 2023.

References

External links

* '
Official Trailer
on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

'' * {{IMDb title, 11947680 2022 films 2022 short films 2020s English-language films British animated short films