Jamaican wins prestigious European Short Film Festival Award

JARED HALL is an artist, storyteller, illustrator, graphic designer, and animator, who has a bachelor of arts degree in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design, and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in animation at California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

Earlier this week he won his first major international film award, the ‘Best Animated Short Film’, for Anansi The Spider at the European Short Film Festival held online from Berlin, Germany. The key cast members are Daniel Jennings, Elijah Gallimore-Repole, and Jared Hall (also the director).

“It feels pretty great. I suppose it hasn’t quite hit me all the way yet, since the film has yet to be publicly released online. The support from my family and friends has been amazing, so many people have helped me get here. My parents especially. This feels like a great first step in setting myself up as an independent animator,” the son of Margin G. Hall of Halls of Learning and Shakira Walton told The Gleaner.

But what inspired the name of the film? “The film is named after the titular character of Anansi The Spider. I’ve always loved folk tales and myths, but out of all the characters and creatures I’d heard of from ‘Rolling Calf’ to ‘Duppy’ to ‘River Mumma’, I had always thought that Anansi was the most compelling. Always an underdog, but never really a good guy or a bad guy. Depending on the story, he could appear smart or dumb, good or bad. But, no matter what, he would always be entertaining,” the graduate of Campion College, where he co-founded the Animation Society, shared.

And, he has won by entertaining the judges with the technicalities and the storyline which goes like this: “Anansi is an itsy-bitsy spider who’s never felt important a day in his life. One day, out of spite and a need to prove himself, he provokes the undisputed ‘King of the Jungle’, Tiger. Instead of just eating him right then and there, Tiger makes a bet with the spider.

“He challenges Anansi to capture Snake, one of the most elusive and dangerous animals in the jungle. Against all odds, Anansi is actually able do this. He wins the bet and becomes ‘King of the Jungle’ and keeper of all its stories. There are many different versions of this story, with roots going back all the way to Africa. This is just my version.”

It took almost two years to complete. Yet, he said, “It was supposed to be completed within my first year of grad school at California Institute of the Arts, but the production gradually became more and more difficult.” His persistence certainly paid off, but what inspired him to participate in the competition?

Hall said, “Much like Anansi, I suppose, I’m also a bit hungry for fame and recognition. I worked really hard on this film, and I want everyone in the world to see it. The European Short Film Festival has a great reputation with international applicants, and had been running for almost 10 years. It felt like a good choice to apply. I have also applied to many other festivals and competitions, some of which I won’t know anything about until the end of the year.

This is the start, in terms of awards, so, what’s next? “I have a lot of stuff in the pipeline. This summer alone, I’m working on a storybook adaptation of my film, as well as a ‘Making of Anansi’ artbook. Look out for that crowd-funding campaign when it launches! After that, I have a whole other film to create before I graduate. Production has already started.”

Anansi The Spider was also an ‘official selection’ at Film Invasion Los Angeles, and the Seattle Film Festival, earlier this year.