Local Fruit
Animation, Stop-motion
An animated short film that was presented at the annual ABK Shortfilm Festival Stuttgart.
Local Fruit (original title: “Heimisches Obst”) is a contribution to the ABK Stuttgart short film festival, which was presented on 04.04.2017. It deals with the topic of migration and integration in the context of resistance and rebellion in parts of the population.
The Pegida movement (short for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the Occident - PEGIDA) emerged following the influx of refugees to Germany in 2016. This organization stands for Islamophobic, xenophobic, racist and far-right views. The weekly protest marches and demonstrations organized by Pegida dominated the cityscape in many places. Through the media, we saw thousands of people loudly expressing their xenophobia. This anger was also directed at the government, which was blamed for everything they disliked.
What was striking was that the hatred previously associated with the radical right suddenly penetrated the center of society. The former call for freedom and justice - “We are the people” - was adopted by the organizers and used as a hate slogan at the marches. The attacks on refugee homes, the increasing acceptance of right-wing extremist ideas even in middle-class and academic circles, and the development of the AfD from an alternative initiated by Lucke to an anti-constitutional party left many people with a basic understanding of democracy stunned.
This gave rise to the idea of submitting an entry for the ABK short film festival that captures this new mood in parts of society and reveals its problematic facets.
In the film “Domestic Fruit”, a group of animated pears and apples initially resists the integration of tropical fruits. Other foreign fruits that want to join them are met with rejection and resistance. The pears and apples increasingly lose their composure and eventually descend into sheer hatred. This leads to completely uninhibited language and calls for violence. Domestic fruit also uses extremist forums on social media, similar to the sad reality that exists in Germany.
The pear, through the shape of its fruiting body and characteristic stem, has something figurative about it that can be quickly brought to life with minimal animation. Their differentiated appearance gives the individual pears different expressions and characters.
Other types of fruit appear less figurative, but can create the desired analogies in the context of the film. So it is quite sufficient to confront them with the pear characters. Perhaps this is what gives the film something bizarre, funny and entertaining, even if the content is serious and not funny.
The film was created using stop-motion technology and produced by Luca Bartholomae. It was dubbed by the actresses Lotte Lindenborn and Marisa Bartholomae. The soundtrack played a central role in underlining actions and scenes. The painstaking and elaborate stop-motion animation lends the film a special charm that is particularly effective in short films.
For the complete movie: request link and password here.
A group of pears and apples perceive any foreign fruit as a threat to their social order. The first tropical fruits still find a place. But the arrival of more fruit leads to an ugly escalation.
Weekly protest marches formed after the influx of refugees in 2016 (Germany). The cry “Wir sind das Volk” became a hate slogan. Right-wing extremist ideas moved to the center of society.
The appearance of a pear, with its fruiting body and stem, quickly conveys something figurative.
For many, social media means a space in which they can express themselves anonymously and without restraint. Communities are created that contribute to the radicalization of society.
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