Madame Tutli-Putli
Encyclopedia
Madame Tutli-Putli is a 2007 stop motion
-animated short film by Montreal
filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, collectively known as Clyde Henry Productions
, and produced by the National Film Board of Canada
(NFB). It is available on the Cinema16: World Short Films
DVD as well as from the NFB.
for a mysterious and suspenseful journey. When train robbers cut open a man's stomach and steal his intestines, she tries to escape.
, north of Lake Superior
, living on the train for two weeks, collecting stories. The stop motion animation took them more than five years.
Critics lauded the film for its groundbreaking stop-motion animation techniques. Portrait artist Jason Walker created the technique of adding composited
human eyes to the stop motion puppets.
On May 28, 2007, the film won the Canal + Grand Prize for best short film along with the Petit Rail d'Or, chosen by a "group of 100 cinephile railwaymen," at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
. In June 2007, Madame Tutli-Putli won best animated short at the Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto
, qualifying it for Academy Award consideration. It received an Oscar nomination in January 2008. In late June 2008, Madame Tutli-Putli won the "Best of the Festival" award at the Melbourne International Animation Festival
. At the Ars Electronica
Festival 2008 Chris Lavis received a Golden Nica in the category "Computer Animation/Film/VFX" of the Prix Ars Electronica
. It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows
.
, the NFB began a promotion campaign entitled "NFB at the Oscars", commemorating the 12 awards and 70 nominations that NFB productions have received. To celebrate the nomination of Madame Tutli-Putli for Best Animated Short Film
, the NFB announced that it would make the film freely available for viewing online, but with a caveat—each of the 23,287 frames had to first be unlocked, one by each visitor from a unique IP address
. Once the entire film was unlocked, it was made available for viewing at CBC.ca
.
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
-animated short film by Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, collectively known as Clyde Henry Productions
Clyde Henry Productions
Clyde Henry Productions is a Canadian film, stop-motion animation, puppetry and illustration firm consisting of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski...
, and produced by the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB). It is available on the Cinema16: World Short Films
Cinema 16: World Short Films
Cinema16: World Short Films is a DVD featuring short films from multiple countries, directed by the likes of Guillermo Del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and Park Chan-Wook, as well as less widely known directors...
DVD as well as from the NFB.
Plot
Madame Tutli-Putli boards a night trainTrain
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
for a mysterious and suspenseful journey. When train robbers cut open a man's stomach and steal his intestines, she tries to escape.
Research and production
The filmmakers researched the film by traveling on The CanadianThe Canadian
The Canadian is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train originally operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1955 and 1978. It is currently operated as an Inter-city rail service by Via Rail Canada with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario and Pacific Central Station in...
, north of Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
, living on the train for two weeks, collecting stories. The stop motion animation took them more than five years.
Critics lauded the film for its groundbreaking stop-motion animation techniques. Portrait artist Jason Walker created the technique of adding composited
Compositing
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...
human eyes to the stop motion puppets.
Awards
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
. In June 2007, Madame Tutli-Putli won best animated short at the Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, qualifying it for Academy Award consideration. It received an Oscar nomination in January 2008. In late June 2008, Madame Tutli-Putli won the "Best of the Festival" award at the Melbourne International Animation Festival
Melbourne International Animation Festival
The Melbourne International Animation Festival or MIAF is an annual animation festival held in Melbourne. Supported by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, the Australian Film Commission and the Melbourne City Council, it is Australia's largest animation event. Over the course of the...
. At the Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
Festival 2008 Chris Lavis received a Golden Nica in the category "Computer Animation/Film/VFX" of the Prix Ars Electronica
Prix Ars Electronica
The Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important yearly prizes in the field of electronic and interactive art, computer animation, digital culture and music...
. It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows
Animation show of shows
The Animation Show of Shows is a traveling selection of the year's best animated short films, curated and presented by Acme Filmworks founder, Ron Diamond. It began in 1998 with the aim of showing the most original, funny, intelligent short animated films from all over the world and presenting them...
.
"NFB at the Oscars" contest and promotion
In early 2008, before the 80th Academy Awards80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
, the NFB began a promotion campaign entitled "NFB at the Oscars", commemorating the 12 awards and 70 nominations that NFB productions have received. To celebrate the nomination of Madame Tutli-Putli for Best Animated Short Film
Academy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
, the NFB announced that it would make the film freely available for viewing online, but with a caveat—each of the 23,287 frames had to first be unlocked, one by each visitor from a unique IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
. Once the entire film was unlocked, it was made available for viewing at CBC.ca
CBC.ca
CBC.ca is the English-language online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993....
.