Infos about Greylands/Die graue March

Meinrad Inglin

The animation short „Die graue March“ (Greylands) is based on motifs of the short story “Die Furggel” and the novel “Die graue March” by the Swiss writer Meinrad Inglin (1893-1971).

In his short story “Die Furggel” a happy father and son trip to the mountains ends in tragedy.The Story has biographical roots: When Inglin was thirteen years old, his father died in a accident in the mountains.

In the novel “Die graue March” Inglin tells clorourful and vivid stories of death and life of both animals and humans, exposed to a rough mountain environment called „die graue March“.

More infos here: www.britannica.com, www.meinradinglin.ch

Co-Directors statement:

„The animated short Die graue March / Greylands describes a world situated between alpine pastures and desolate rocky landscapes. Here, moments of peace can be followed by misfortune as swiftly as sunshine gives way to merciless snowy blizzards. The novels of the Swiss writer Meinrad Inglin (1893–1971) offer stirring descriptions of these in-between regions – a world devoid of romanticism and folklore.

Stories about letting go and death are also stories about life, and the converse similarly applies. Inglins motifs and storylines have accompanied us on our wanderings through this land of transitions, providing us with images when words cannot suffice to capture what ultimately remains ineffable.“

Making Of:

This film was animated entirely on a multiplane animation stand. The background fragments were glued at the „backside“ of the glass panels. On one level I animated the characters, on the level below I coloured them. I also worked with cut out elements, like for example single snowflakes. The mist and the „uniform“ snow was drawn on long celluloid film on rotors, which were moved by hand for every frame.

In the pictures above you can see how a scene was set up.