WORLD OF TOMORROW: The First Three Episodes
Animator Don Hertzfeldt explores the human condition through this trilogy of sci-fi shorts that are as thought-provoking as they are hilarious.
WORLD OF TOMORROW (2015)
A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future. Originally conceived as a way to practice digital animation while simultaneously creating a couch gag for THE SIMPSONS, Don Hertzfeldt's 2015 short features deceptively simple stick-figure characters amid abstract backgrounds. Its macabre humor, delivered primarily through Julia Pott's monotone narration as clone Emily, is interspersed by the amusing, unscripted recordings of Winona Mae, Hertzfeldt's then-four-year-old niece, as the original Emily. This element of childhood whimsy is integral to balancing out the film's dark absurdism, paving the way for its core theme: life is precious, and the sadness permeating our day-to-day is a reminder to cherish it.Winner, Grand Jury Prize for Short Film, Sundance film Festival; Nominee, Best Animated Short, 2015 Academy Awards®. DIR/SCR/PROD Don Hertzfeldt. U.S., 2015, color, 17 min. NOT RATED
WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE TWO: THE BURDEN OF OTHER PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS
When the Earth explodes before the consciousness of Emily Prime can be transferred into a clone, the incomplete third-generation backup, Emily 6, travels backward through time to complete the task herself and finally become whole — whatever that means. Don Hertzfeldt's ingenious animation and knack for telling a distressingly poignant tale leavened with achingly funny jokes are in perfect form in this unplanned sequel to his 2015 Academy Award®–nominated WORLD OF TOMORROW. Developed over a year and a half utilizing additional recordings of his young niece, Winona Mae, Hertzfelt's second film in the trilogy is an astonishing dive into the joys and melancholy that make up who we are. DIR/SCR/PROD Don Hertzfeldt. U.S., 2017, color, 23 min. NOT RATED
WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE THREE: THE ABSENT DESTINATIONS OF DAVID PRIME
While rocketing through space, David is greeted by a hidden memory implanted by a future wife of his future clone urging him to travel to a remote planet and uncover additional memories she has lost. Unfortunately for David, his neural implants lack the space to store this information, forcing him to delete skills he has acquired over his lifetime to make room — a process he repeats on his journey through the cosmos. The final installment in Don Hertzefelt’s tragicomic trilogy shifts its narrative gears toward a more cynical yet no less affecting examination of human existence that will leave you crying tears of laughter and anguish. DIR/SCR/PROD Don Hertzfeldt. U.S., 2020, color, 34 min. NOT RATED
ON MEMORY
Released as a bonus feature on the home-video release of the WORLD OF TOMORROW trilogy, this nine-minute short from Don Hertzfeldt finds the animator musing about the nature of memory while recounting his own. DIR/SCR/PROD Don Hertzfeldt. U.S., 2021, color, 9 min. NOT RATED
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