Céline Roustan

Every morning is the same. Mr. Pix wakes up, gets ready, has breakfast while reading the newspaper and then heads to work. His routine is so perfectly timed that the start of each new day is exactly the same as the previous, giving him a false illusion that he’s in control. In Pixied, writing and direction duo Agostina Ravazzola and Gabriela Sorroza cleverly use – you guessed it – pixilation stop-motion to convey how automatic and mechanical human behavior can be, up until a certain breaking point.

While the main idea that drives the narrative of Pixied is instantly clear, because of how incredibly relatable it is, individual viewers will respond to the different layers of the film and what they capture. For the themes the short explores – a lack of spontaneity, our dependance on objects, a loss of control over our lives – the use of pixilation is not only clever but also deeply effective. With humor, the film captures how we passively go through the motions, refusing to question our every day lives, which, should it happen, can prove quite difficult.

Ravazzola and Sorroza made Pixied in their free time in-between work and describe the short as
“our escape, our path to free ourselves of our daily routines”

“Our modern way of life” is what filmmaker Agostina Ravazzola credits as the main inspiration behind the film, explaining how identifying a “lack of real conscience of how we are living and how the system turns us into machines in a continuous cycle” proved key in the story. Wanting to create a narrative around the breaking of that cycle, they built the film as a metaphor, not only visually but also in how meta the character’s journey is. As Mr. Pix realizes that he is just a character in his own story, he eventually tries to escape from his pre-determined routine and things don’t go smoothly.

I have a great fondness for animated films that use the full creativity of the medium and bring to the screen the less tangible aspects of a narrative. As previously mentioned, pixilation fosters the perfect mechanical atmosphere to complement the backbone of Pixied’s storyline. However, the film is so compelling thanks to every single aspect of the craft. From art direction to post-production, the film immerses us in Mr. Pix’ routine, trapping us in it, along with him. The editing, sound design, foley and score all contribute to creating that repetitive and rigid life cycle with the same dash of dark humor as the visuals, increasing the film’s entertaining quality.

Pixied made its way around the festival circuit back in 2017 with notable stops at Mar del Plata and Ottawa. Ravazzola has a new short Sow about to begin its festival career and is currently developing a new animated short film that she describes as “more experimental than narrative, I want to talk about, love, sex, relationships, monogamy, poligamy, etc.” – sounds exciting!