At the 19th edition of the Seoul Indie-Anifest, unhinged Singaporean animator Calleen Koh, strikes again – and this time, with a lot more (s)ass. Previously, Koh made her sensational directorial debut with “Sexy Sushi” (2020), a hyperfrenetic, less-than-5-minute short fantasizing about sexwork on a sushi conveyer belt. Her second short, “To Kill the Birds & the Bees,” (2021) is similarly crazed, featuring a mélange of puppetry and satirical pop tunes to reflect upon the hypocrisy of Singapore's prudish values.
“Hot Buns” screened at Indie-Anifest
But these works before felt distinctly like student films, restricted perhaps by budget or time. “Hot Buns” marks Koh's first short post-graduation, where the sky is not even the limit. Here, we are in an apartheid-like world where Buns are subject to the whimsy of Hands. Unlike the Hands – which live on the upper-echelons of society – Buns are subject to menial labor and exoticization; sometimes, they are even poached and raised as food. However, after one viral video goes one step too far, the world of Buns and Hands erupts righteous fury. In a series of well-meaning, but severely misunderstanding, initiatives, Hands and Buns alike join forces, finally sending an orphaned Bun to the moon.
Overall, this short reads as an unbridled development of Koh's maximalist aesthetic. Like “To Kill the Birds & the Bees,”, Koh and her team at Finding Pictures cobble together a delightful melange of media, but at the feverish pace of “Sexy Sushi.” A dizzy display of stop motion to 3D models to analog video-like effects motions to Koh's nuanced sensitivity to the screenspheres that make up the 21st century content climate. In a way, because of how seamlessly the short is edited, it is almost as if watching “Hot buns” itself is a reflection of our own entirely complex media environment. And, like the rest of her oeuvre, she stays true to her explicit themes. “Hot Buns” savors her sex-laden satire of Internet warriors, processing the oscillatory nature of copulation and constipation as a (w)hole.
Should you chance upon “Hot Buns” on the festival circuit or elsewhere, certainly give it a watch. Keep an eye out for Calleen Koh – perhaps one of the most promising young Singaporean animators in the last few years – as her star is just starting to rise.
