“I Know You”
"Using the very basic elements of the animated film, yet twisting and distorting them in a surprising way, this film creates a mental landscape where anxiety, self- doubt and grim humour reign. The accuracy of this image allows the film to expand from the very personal into something that we all can recognize. The best animation prize is given to I know you by Gudrun Krebitz“
(Jury statement Gran Prix international competition Animation, Tampere Filmfestival 2010)
https://www.gudrunkrebitz.com/work/film
Krebitz, an Austrian animator, uses minimal animation and hand-drawn type to lure viewers into her visual poem. An independent filmmaker, Gudrun Krebitz has degrees in both illustration and animation, the latter from The Royal College of Art, and most often animates poetic pieces like her graduation piece, "Achill" that swept international film festivals. This short film is a beautiful example of the powerful combination that is text onscreen combined with powerful images of sketchy illustrations. The child's voice that narrates often diverges from what we read and yet the scratchy handwriting and drawings feel childlike enough for the viewer to link the two. The images are each graphic in their own right, serving as slightly moving stills to accompany rich poetic text. Confining them to only black and white, with fairly simple movements of characters, helps the piece feel more akin to a moving picture book of the story Krebitz weaves.
Mysterious and dark, splotches and fine lines of ink create a textural piece that helps the poem come to life. Occasionally, Krebitz' illustrations match what the narrator describes for a satisfying match. At other times, the images feel like they exist in another world. All together, the piece exemplifies how minimalistic graphic imagery mixed with occasional text, especially when handwritten, can evoke powerful emotion in video format.
