Rob Munday

Ever since an Aunt of mine bought me Cliffhanger when she found out that I wanted to become a filmmaker, I’ve had a bit of a soft-spot for mountain-climbing in movies. Not as action-packed as the Stallone blockbuster, but equally as funny (but for all the right reasons) Ascension is an animation with a serious looking aesthetic and a narrative with some perfect comedy timing.

Created by a group of 5-Supinfocom students, as their graduation film, Ascension is the tale of two determined (and accident-prone) climbers who attempt to transport a religious statue to the peak of a snow-covered mountain. Whilst initial readings of that synopsis may lead an audience to assume this is going to be a film of a serious nature, the storyline quickly reveals something quite different. Perfectly puncturing its sombre tone with some laugh-out-loud slapstick moments, this animated short combines comedic moments with an endearing narrative centred around friendship and commitment.

With an aesthetic as distinct as its narrative, although it was the humour of Ascension that really made it a stand-out short for me, it’d be hard to write about this short without mentioning its wonderful visual style. Featuring some jaw-dropping environments and well-considered characters this is a short that’s sure to set its creators along the right path for a career in animation. We often talk about short film as a calling-card for filmmakers and if that’s the case then Ascension should certainly turn a few heads in the industry. Admirably finding just the right balance between story and style, whilst also injecting some grin-inducing humour into the mix – what more could we ask from a short film?