“Black Slide,” a joint Israeli-British production, has been short-listed for nomination in the Animated Short Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. The list of films nominated for the Academy Awards will be officially announced on Tuesday, January 24.
The film, written and directed by Uri Lotan, a Tel Aviv-based animation director, tells the story of a boy who conquers his fears to enter a terrifying water slide, and acts as a metaphor for dealing with his mother’s serious illness. Lotan, a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design in the US, has worked for major animation studios, including Pixar, Disney and Sony.
Black Slide | Trailer from The Hive Studio on Vimeo.
As a child, Lotan experienced the loss of his mother on the day he went to a water park, and he channels his real-life experiences of loss into a meaningful film that has received numerous awards, including the Audience Award for the Best Short Film at the British Animation Awards in 2021.
Black Slide is a mix of stop-motion animation and children’s book illustrations, which creates a mature, yet child-like and innocent aesthetic.
“Because the film is such a personal subject matter,” says Lotan,” the feeling that guided me was the feeling that I had that day and how I would bring them to the screen. I have learned from viewers who have seen the film that the pain of trauma and loss of a loved one is a very relatable thing that we all go through at one point or another in our lives.”
“What I have learned,” continues Lotan, “is that there are certain things that I can’t verbalize with words, and I can’t share. Through films, I can express certain pains that I can’t express in any other medium. That’s the reason I make films.”
The Foreign Ministry is participating in the general campaign to support and promote all Israeli films that have been short-listed and nominated for the Academy Awards.