Angel Wu's graduation film, “drawn undrew draw” is quite frankly intimidating. In under four minutes, the film flips through an incredible series of illustrations at lightning speed. A dramatic orchestral score accompanies the piece, dramatizing the sense of frenetic energy even further. The short's festival run is behemothic as well: it screened in two of the world's most prestigious animation festivals, Annecy and Animfest Zagreb, this year.
“drawn undrew draw” will play in Cartoons Underground from 20-27 November.
For a film that is so publicly circulated, however, “drawn undrew draw” feels almost too personal. She brews over five central questions throughout the film: “Why did you draw? How did you begin to draw? Why did you stop drawing? How did you go back to draw? Will you draw on?” In each “answer,” she seems to frantically search for visual evidence to make up for lost time. Sometimes, it even seems like she is borrowing from the mathematical precision of a Max Hattler — she is unafraid to add and multiply her book bindings on-screen.
Unlike Hattler's relatively peaceful work, however, Wu is a tormented soul. Sometimes, when the film goes too fast, Wu is unafraid to stop it entirely — jolting the viewer into complete standstill. This calls attention to her illustration-heavy process. Each frame, she underscores, is the result of backbreaking labor. Labor out of love, but labor nonetheless.
