This month, internationally co-produced stop-motion short Steps to Fly (Pasos Para Volar) is spreading its wings with premieres in North America this week (Pixelatl Festival in Mexico) and in Europe (StopTrik in Slovenia, Sept. 25-29). Directed by Nicolás Conte and Rosario Carlino, the family-friendly film is a joint effort between Argentina’s OSA Estudio and Oscar nominated studio Vivement Lundi! in France.
“We are deeply honored to premiere Steps to Fly at Pixelatl. The festival has become a cornerstone of the creative industries related to animation in Latin America,” said Carlino, who served as lead producer on the project as well as co-directing and is the founder of OSA Estudio. “Our participation in Shortway was instrumental in the development of this project, opening many doors. Premiering the film at Pixelatl, a festival that supported and nurtured our journey, underscores the importance of platforms that provide visibility and training for creators and their works, while also contributing to the diversification of narratives with ideas rooted in the global south.”
Conte added, “We are equally thrilled to present our film at the StopTrik animation festival. Slovenia and Eastern Europe have a long-standing tradition of excellence in stop motion, and many of the short films that inspired us hail from this region. We hope this eastern European premiere marks the beginning of a journey that will take our short film to audiences around the world.”
Steps to Fly tells the poignant story of two birds confined to a room with a high window. The larger bird teaches the smaller one how to fly, even though he has no wings. The appearance of a mysterious briefcase will ruin Bird’s plans, and will reveal to Little Bird an unexpected possibility of escape.
“With Steps to Fly, we aimed to contribute to sustainability from an artistic perspective,” Carlino noted. “We worked with natural materials — wood, branches, brick — and repurposed existing objects, minimizing the need for new construction. The set was a real room, eliminating the need for intricate models. For the water effects, we used 130 kilos of recycled plastic, which was later donated to a local small business that creates furniture from recycled plastic. We are pleased to premiere at Stop Trick, a festival that not only celebrates stop motion but also promotes innovative production methods.”
The project has enjoyed some helpful updrafts of support on its production journey. Steps to Fly debuted at Apa Lab in Córdoba in 2019, where it received two awards. The project continued to gain recognition, winning the Mifa award at Pixelatl Shortway and participating in the Animarkt Stop Motion Forum in Poland. In 2021, it was featured in the MIFA Pitches at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it secured the Ciclic award.
Despite a difficult economic climate in Argentina punctuated by the loss of cultural funds from the government, the production was completed in May of this year with the support of CNC, Procirep and Angoa in France, the Polo Audiovisual, Córdoba Film Commission, and two universities (Blas Pascal University and UNICEN) where the directors work as professors.
“Stop-motion animation is part of Vivement Lundi’s DNA and we are always looking for singular ways to work with this technique,” said Jean-François Le Corre, the film’s French co-producer and CEO of Vivement Lundi!. “When I discovered the project, I’ve immediately been seduced by its original aesthetic and its strong character design. Nicolas and Rosario created a fantastic and surrealistic movie in which strong topics resonate such as child autonomy or handicap. We are very happy to have been able to support them in this production.”
osaestudio.com.ar | vivement-lundi.com
