''The Physics of Sorrow'' (french: Physique de la tristesse) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

animated short film, directed by Theodore Ushev and released in 2019.Dan Sarto
"Theodore Ushev’s New Short ‘The Physics of Sorrow’ to Premiere at TIFF 2019"
''

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN co ...

'', August 1, 2019.

Summary

Based on the novel by

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n writer Georgi Gospodinov, the film tells the story of a man reminiscing about his childhood as he struggles to understand the meaning and purpose of his life.

Production

The film was animated entirely through

encaustic painting Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other mate ...

, an old artistic technique involving the melting of pigmented

beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive work ...

. It was narrated by Rossif Sutherland, and features a smaller voice appearance by his father,

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

Release and reception

The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received an honourable mention from the Best Canadian Short Film award jury. It also received a Special Mention for Best Canadian Short Film at the

2019 Vancouver International Film Festival The 38th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) took place from September 26 to October 11, 2019. The opening film was Atom Egoyan's ''Guest of Honour (2019 film), Guest of Honour'', and the closing film was Nicolas Bedos's ''La Belle Époqu ...

, and was named Best Canadian Film at the 2019 Sommets du cinéma d'animation.

Accolades

In December 2019, the film was named to TIFF's annual year-end

Canada's Top Ten Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival and announced in December each year to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema" ...

list for short films. It was shortlisted for the

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

in 2019, and won the

Prix Iris The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec.Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

at the 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards in 2020. ''The Physics of Sorrow'' also won a

Golden Sheaf Award Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

for Best Animation at the 2020

Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

. In 2020 the film won "the Annecy Cristal" (''le Cristal d'Annecy'') at the

Annecy International Animation Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Physics of Sorrow, The 2019 short films 2019 animated films 2019 films Canadian animated short films Films directed by Theodore Ushev 2010s animated short films 2010s Canadian films Best Animated Short Film Jutra and Iris Award winners