''Drux Flux'' is a 2008

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

Theodore Ushev Theodore Asenov Ushev ( bg, Теодор Асенов Ушев; born 4 February 1968) is a Bulgarian animator, film director and screenwriter based in Montreal. He is best known for his work at the National Film Board of Canada, including the 2 ...

, inspired by

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse (; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German-American philosopher, social critic, and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at the Humboldt Universi ...

’s treatise ''

One-Dimensional Man ''One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society'' is a 1964 book by the philosopher and critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, in which the author offers a wide-ranging critique of both contemporary capitalism and the Co ...

''. A film without words, ''Drux Flux'' uses figurative and abstract imagery to portray people as crushed by industry and progress. The film features a musical score by

Alexander Mossolov Alexander Vasilyevich MosolovMosolov's name is transliterated variously and inconsistently between sources. Alternative spellings of Alexander include Alexandr, Aleksandr, Aleksander, and Alexandre; variations on Mosolov include Mossolov and Mossol ...

, and was produced in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

. Ushev began work on the film in 2007. The NFB had asked him to create a 3-D version of ''

Tower Bawher ''Tower Bawher'' is a 2005 constructivist-style abstract animated short by Theodore Ushev, set to the musical composition "Time, Forward!" by Russian composer Georgy Sviridov. The film's title is an allusion to Tatlin's Tower, an unbuilt structu ...

'', but finding the work tedious, the filmmaker decided to begin work on ''Drux Flux'' instead. The two films are similar in style, both utilizing Soviet constructivist imagery and Russian classical music score. ''Drux Flux'' received the

Canadian Film Institute The Canadian Film Institute (CFI) (french: Institut canadien du film (ICF)) Canadian Film Institute involves Canada in the film production, study, appreciation process of film/moving images for cultural and educational purposes. The Canadian Film ...

Award for Best Canadian Animation at the

Ottawa International Animation Film Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...

, and was nominated for best animated short at the

29th Genie Awards The 29th Genie Awards were held on April 4, 2009, to honour Canadian films released in 2008. The ceremony was held at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, and was broadcast on Global and IFC. The ceremony was hosted by Dave Foley. N ...

References

External links

* * (2-D) * (3-D, glasses required) 2008 films National Film Board of Canada animated short films Animated films without speech Anti-modernist films Films directed by Theodore Ushev Constructivism (art) 2000s animated short films 2008 animated films Abstract animation 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-short-animation-film-stub