Red

Red is a short animated film by Ao Chen that brings traditional Chinese art forms into dialogue with contemporary animation. Drawing on ink-wash painting and ceramics, the film combines drawing on paper, clay and 2D computer animation. These techniques provide the means for an artistic exploration of “Red China”—a subject that Annecy’s official synopsis frames as something to be both represented and reconsidered. Annecy Festival

Presented without dialogue or commentary, the work communicates through animated imagery and music composed by Chen. Its combination of traditional materials and digital processes can be understood as an exploration of how established artistic forms acquire new expressive possibilities through the moving image. Read in relation to its stated subject, this approach opens a dialogue between cultural inheritance and representation: Chinese artistic traditions become not only the film’s visual language, but also a means of reflecting on the China they depict. Annecy Festival

A China–United Kingdom co-production through Red Feather Animation Studio, Red features animation by Ao Chen and Fei Chen, with Chen also credited as producer, screenwriter, editor and composer. The film was selected for the Perspectives Short Film Competition at the 2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival