Ice Merchants is a 2022

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

directed by

João Gonzalez João Gonzalez (born February 11, 1996) is a Portuguese film director and animator based in Porto. He is mostly known for writing and directing the multi-award-winning short film '' Ice Merchants'', which premiered and was awarded at Cannes Film ...

. The 14-minute short about family love is the first ever Portuguese animation to be awarded at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, where it premiered as part of the 2022 Critics' Week (''Semaine de la Critique''). The film has been featured in a number of international film festivals, receiving accolades such as the Gold Hugo award for Best Animated Short at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

and won over nine awards in festivals and a nomination for the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

in the category of Best Animated Short Film.

Plot

Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their house on a cliff to go to the village, where they sell ice. While falling, they always lose their matching hats, and they buy themselves new ones while in town. They then return to their house through the use of a pulley system, where they spend time together and bond. The boy's mother has passed away some time ago, but her presence is still on the mind of the father and son, whether by her unused mug or her empty space in the bed. One morning, the temperature is so warm that there is no ice to sell, and melting snow falls heavily on the house, breaking it away from the cliff. The backpack with the parachute falls away, leaving the father and son stranded. Realizing that they have no chance for survival, the father holds the son tightly and jumps from the collapsing house. On the way down, they are met by a vision of the mother, who holds on to the pair and pulls her own parachute. The father and son miraculously land on the massive pile of hats that have accumulated on the

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus or wikt:duff#Noun 2, duff, is the part of a forest ecosystem that mediates between the living, aboveground portion of the forest and the mineral soil, principally composed of dead and decaying plant matter ...

below the house and are saved. They walk off to the village, taking a hat for the son along the way.

Reception

Since its release, the film has been selected in various festivals around the world:

References

External links

Official trailer
on

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* , posted by ''

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'' *
Ice Merchants
' on

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

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Ice Merchants
' on

Unifrance Unifrance is an organization for promoting French films in France and abroad. It is managed by the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. It has several hundred members who include filmmakers, directors, screenwriters and agents. Fou ...

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Ice Merchants
' at Cannes Critics' Week {{Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject 2022 animated short films Best Animated Short Subject Annie Award winners British animated short films French animated short films Portuguese animated short films Animated films about father–son relationships Animated films without speech Skydiving in fiction