Father and Daughter

This short film apparently took 8 years to make and it shows.

I saw it as part of an arts degree programme at NEWI, Wrexham where it was used to demonstrate to the Level 1 audience what empathy (the subject of the next essay) could be.

The artwork shows what can be achieved with the utmost economy of line, no massive Disney or Pixar art work here. It is truly incredible the depth of emotion that such an apparently very simple, short film can bring out. It certainly made the 'empathy' point, I defy anybody with any kind of normal human feelings not to be moved by this film.

I heartily recommend this film if you can get to see it.

I was lucky enough to see this at an animation masterclass in Glasgow in 2001. Thankfully the lights were dimmed when they showed this so we could all cry in the dark.

A masterpiece that does not waste a single frame. Stylish and straight to the emotional nerve.

The feeling of longing in this short is almost suffocating. Longing is such a strong emotion that is not expressed often enough in cinema. If anyone in film can get half as close to true longing as "Father and Daughter" they will touch the audience for life.

People MUST see this. Someone out there - What about a compilation video of "10 Years of Animated Shorts Oscar Winners" Please?

This is one of the most amazing shorts I've seen. The story of love between a girl and her father is so amazing. As the father leaves his daughter, she still comes back to the last place she saw him as she grows older. The story is touching, and the music is amazing. Not to mention the animation, which was so beautiful. I thought this film was certainly deserving of its Academy Award, despite "Rejected" being one of my favorites also. But this film is so touching, so beautiful, I could watch it again and again and not get tired of it. The ending was so touching- but I won't spoil it. Watch this film and you will never forget it.

In my view, this piece is the equal to The Man Who Planted Trees (which is high praise indeed) and it should be in print and widely available. Sadly, all too many short animated pieces are not in print (or even seen, these days) and this reality will not be altered any time soon, I'm afraid. End of sermon.

Father and Daughter is simply breathtaking. The whole package-music, backgrounds, animation, story-everything is excellent, with nary a misstep. Basic themes repeat throughout and the attention to detail is extraordinary! Particularly watch toward the end, the shadows and the interaction of movement. That this won the Academy Award and deserved to is an understatement. There were three exceptional nominees, all of which is a testament to the committee overseeing the shorts nomination process. So far as I'm aware, only one (Rejected) is in print. I saw Father and Daughter on The Sundance Channel, as part of Shorts Program 103. Most highly recommended.

Father and Daughter is a perfect piece of animation film-making. People 'worry' that it won't be seen, but we have postings here from Germany, Scotland, USA... Here in Japan, the film got a theatrical release, the shortest movie ever to achieve that in Japan. I have been screening it to film students for three years, and in this year's class one student had seen it already. This film takes one traumatic event in the life of a young woman and focuses on it to the exclusion of all others. It doesn't reduce her life to that single motif - the film acknowledges that a fuller life is lived off-screen, as her family accompanying her in several scenes implies. Some filmmakers will work their whole careers and never have their audience achieve the level of catharsis in Father and Daughter. Quite simply breathtaking in its economy and elegance.