Bad Aussees Elza Grimm wins price for important short film about species death

Bad Aussees Elza Grimm wins price for important short film about species death

In Vienna, the Bad Ausseer artist and filmmaker Daniel Bernhardt, known as Elza Grimm, cheered on an incredible success. His animated short film "Memories of an Exincting Kind" won the prize for the best animation 2024 at the renowned Austrian Film Festival.

The film, which was funded by the support of the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl-Salzkammergut 2024, tells an important story. The premiere took place in May during the “Acta Liquida” exhibition by Heidi Zednik in Neukirchen near Altmünster. The focus is on a Reinanke - as the last of its kind on the desperate search for a fellow species. The narrative affects the profound topic of species death that affects today's world.

Current challenges for the fish species

Elza Grimm takes up an alarming topic in his short film, because over a third of all fresh water fish species worldwide is threatened with extinction. The fish population also disappears in domestic waters, which is thanks to the influence of invasive species and the consequences of climate change. "An animal or plant species dies somewhere every second somewhere on this planet. And this project deals with the question of how it feels for an individual if it realizes that it is the last of its kind," explains Elza Grimm.

The impressive animation of the film makes the border blur blurly and 3D animation. With over two and a half years of hard work, the artist created pictures that look like real scenes. "Memories of an Exincting Kind" has already been shown at international film festivals in South America, Italy and Portugal and has now won an important prize with the Austrian Film Festival. This represents a remarkable climax in a festival season that is just beginning.

For everyone who would like to learn more about this impressive short film, there is www.elzagrimm.com/memories Additional information and a short teaser. Elza Grimm's work not only offers an artistic performance, but also a food for thought to one of the most pressing problems of our time.