Rob Munday
Sporting contemporary themes and biblical references, David Stumpf (Cowboyland) and Michaela Mihalyi’s student film Sh_t Happens presents a fun story with hidden depth. Examining the lengths isolation can push three very different individuals to, this 13-minute animation invites us into the life of an overworked janitor, his sexually-frustrated wife and their neighbour – a widowed deer.
Separated into four different chapters – one for each character and one titled ‘The End’ – throughout the film we’re given insight into the lives of these three lost souls, with each section hoping to shed light on their specific behaviours. As we observe the janitor too tired to give his partner attention, his wife feeling ignored as she witnesses public displays of affection throughout their building and the deer turn to alcohol to deal with his grief, the fallout from their actions culminates in the unexpected conclusion of the film.
“We took a lot of inspiration by living in these huge apartment buildings in post-Soviet countries” – Stumpf & Mihalyi on the origins of the Sh_t Happens narrative.
Motivated to tell a tale of isolation, as they were drawn to the idea of “being together but very much apart”, the themes of Sh_t Happens have obviously taken on extra relevance after the global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in all of us experiencing some form of separation from loved ones. Made before the virus took such a life-changing grip on society, Stumpf and Mihalyi cite huge post-Soviet apartment blocks, the bible and Damián Szifron’s 2014 anthology Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) as inspiration. With three different storylines to immerse yourself in, whether its the fatigue of employment, the feeling of sexual longing or the neverending gut-punch of grief you’re probably going to find something in Sh_t Happens to relate to.
Despite the seemingly weighty subjects that Stumpf and Mihalyi tackle in their short, ultimately Sh_t Happens is a light and hugely entertaining watch and a lot of the credit for this has to come down to the bright and engaging aesthetic. Describing the production as “mostly us sitting at our desks, side by side, and not sleeping much”, it’s clear the directorial duo poured a lot of love into their short and that radiates from the film in its character design, colour palette and general lighthearted approach.
“It was a graduation movie, so we wanted to keep the team as small as possible” – Stumpf & Mihalyi discuss production.
With the pair taking shared credits when it came to the writing and direction of Sh_t Happens, when bringing their story to screen Stumpf was in charge of animation & compositing, while Mihalyi handled the art design. Their combined efforts result in a truly striking animation style where vivid colours, meticulous backgrounds and comical characters join together in glorious harmony, creating a world that’s so visually appealing you never want it to end. But end it must and as we leave our fateful trio with no real idea of what will happen next, their downfall underscored by some Llama synth tunes, despite the bleak situation we’re still left with a ray of hope – we’re just not sure if they’ll welcome it!
Playing festivals around the world, including Venice, Sundance and Ottawa, Sh_t Happens won the award for Best Student Short Film at Anima, before launching online as a Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere in February 2022. Speaking to Stumpf he told us that’s now working as a freelance animator, including some projects with Buck, which he describes as “a dream come true”. He plans to slowly start working on a new short film and although the specifics are vague at the moment, he knows it will be a stop-motion piece.