The Monk and the Fish

France1994animated7'Retrospektywa Michaela Dudoka de Wita (2023)

A monk’s happy life is disturbed by a fish from a monastery lake. Will the character be able to catch it? Or, maybe, the point is not to catch it at all? Black ink combined with pastel colours, dynamic animation and a story based on a Taoist legend ensured a Cesar award as well as Oscar and BAFTA nominations for the film. 600 A monk’s happy life is disturbed by a fish from a monastery lake. The protagonist decides to catch it but due to his clumsiness, his attempts end with a series of amusing situations. The absurd ideas he successively comes up with fail to produce any expected results, either. Will the monk be finally able to catch the fish? Or, maybe, the point is not to catch it at all?

directed by
Michael Dudok de Wit, portret reżysera
Michael Dudok de Wit

Michael Dudok de Wit (1953) was born and received education in the Netherlands. He went to university in Geneva, Barcelona and Farnham in the UK, where he directed his first film, ‘The Interview’. Since 1980 he has lived in London. He has directed and animated many award-winning productions for the commercial sector and television. In 1992 he created the short film ‘Tom Sweep’ followed by an Oscar-nominee and César Award winner, ‘The Monk and the Fish’. His most famous short film ‘Father and Daughter’ was honoured with a Grand Prix in Annecy, the Academy Award, BAFTA, a Grand Prix of Animafest in Zagreb and many other distinctions. It was also screened and awarded at the Krakow Film Festival. In 2006 de Wit directed ‘The Aroma of Tea’, a short film made using exclusively tea. His most recent work is ‘The Red Turtle’, a feature film coproduced by world-famous Studio Ghibli from Japan. It was nominated to the Academy Awards (2017) and won Un Certain Regard, a special award of Cannes festival, among many other honours. Additionally, Michael Dudok de Wit illustrates books and teaches master classes on animation, creativity and related topics at artistic schools and universities in the UK and abroad.

script
Michael Dudok de Wit
animated by
Michael Dudok de Wit, Guy Delisle
music
Serge Besset
editing
Hervé Guichard
production
Jacques-Rémy Girerd, Patrick Eveno (Folimage)
Photo
Kadr z filmu The Monk and the Fish
Trailer