27: A heartfelt short animation which resonates with the housing-crisis youth

Still from 27. Source: Festival de Cannes

On Friday morning, I had the pleasure of meeting Palme d’Or-winning director Flóra Anna Buda over Zoom. She was punctual; I was late.

We discussed her recent short film 27, which in May won Cannes’ top prize. The animated film, inspired by Buda’s own experiences, tells the story of Alice, aged 27, who lives at home with her parents and her invasive younger brother. Alice lacks both privacy and independence, so lives in her fantasies and uses nights out for catharsis. An accident while intoxicated leads to a chastening encounter with the police.

After watching the film, which Buda wrote and designed, it was no surprise to me that its creator was warm and ebullient. As we all know, it is not always the easiest to gauge someone’s personality through the confines of a Zoom call, but Buda’s brightness shone through.

A viewing, particularly for readers in their 20s, is highly recommended. The link is below.

Cannes Success

First of all, a massive congratulations for winning the Palme d’Or – what an amazing feeling that must have been. How was your experience at Cannes? Were you shocked to have won? 

Buda: Thank you. I was and wasn't [shocked]. Cannes was a really nice experience. The best part was the projection of the film with the audience, which went so well. Afterwards I got lots of nice feedback, but I just kept telling myself that it's not going to be anything more than that. I thought, ‘Okay, I don't think an animation short will ever win in Cannes’. And then step by step, there were signs, but I didn't want to take them seriously. Then eventually it became clear, and suddenly it’s: ‘Okay, f**k. I have to go on stage!’

Inspiration behind the film

The story is so simple, but one that lots of us are living. [I'm 24, and when I leave Paris, I will be back in England with my parents]. I wondered whether you personally lived Alice's experience?

Buda: Yeah, it was my story, basically. Okay, I made an effort to write a fiction, but every scene is inspired by real events that I experienced. I did live with my parents until I was 27, so I had a lot of experience on that. I mean, I travelled a lot and went on workshops whenever I could escape. But in general, living with my parents was a good inspiration.

I started writing the story before Covid happened. It was so strange writing about Alice’s suffocating, claustrophobic life, when the whole script then became true for everyone for two years. So it was very interesting and actually inspiring: Covid actually added a little bit to the story.

 

Animation style

The animation style of the film is stunning. You capture the personality of the characters, but the style is not so realistic that it detracts from the art. The drawings are often abstract, but the details are refined and convey emotion: in Alice, you can see her pain and pleasure and boredom. Can you tell me a bit about the animation style and how you did that?

Buda: Definitely, conveying the emotions was super important. I drew all the characters’ poses and then worked with animators. Because there were subtle emotions and movements that I really wanted to present, I drew the main poses and nuances of the film and then handed it to animators to make the movement fluid.

I like when the characters make unrealistic movements, because on the whole the visual style (and story) is quite realistic. For example, in the dance scene, the body morphs and loses its shape, and sometimes is transparent. I love to play with all that realism - I think this is why it's an animated film and not live-action.

The stink bug metaphor

The viewing perspective in the scenes is so satisfying, with some POV shots that you can't really have in live action. For example, when we see Alice’s friend rolling his cigarette from his viewpoint. Also, at the start, when Alice is lying down, all dazed, and she looks up and the two police officers come over and it's hazy. Her eyes are our eyes.

Why, though, did you use the image of a scuttling insect at the start and end of the film?

Buda: It has a little bit of selfish reason, but it also has a non-selfish explanation. The selfish part is that I made another film before which also starts with a stink bug. I wanted to keep this close up on an insect that is a little bit of the spirit animal of the main character.

In Budapest, this insect species – the stink bug – is overpopulated; it's stinky and usually it's stuck in the house and survives in there. There were lots in my room for some reason. And it's super annoying. It tries to go out of the window, but the window is closed, so it just flies into the glass and falls down and dies.

This reminded me of the life-stage of being an adult and living with your parents, in like a child's room: you’re in this (self-created!) stinky, really gross atmosphere. I read about this bug and supposedly it symbolises young adults. It was just so perfect that I decided to keep it [from the last film], even if it's not entirely clear in the film - rather it’s there as a symbol.

The cyclic beginning and ending

The film begins and ends with Alice’s sexual police fantasy. The second occurrence sees her snap back to reality, however, as the police are real. Is the message that her life is in cyclic stasis? Or, is there a sense that because she has had this encounter with the police, this moment in her life is the catalyst for change?

Buda: Alice’s first fantasy is super ideal, or whatever. At the end, though, reality enters her fantasy: she gets a fine. During the whole film, she has problems connecting with and accepting reality. I wanted to have this ending where she cannot fantasise an ideal anymore.

I didn't want to have a clear conclusion or anything, but Alice embraces her angst with this final dance. She feels frustrated, and we feel this frustration.

 

Artistic influences

Do you have any particular artistic influences?

Buda: For this film, it was more like live-action references. I wanted to capture certain moods, not necessarily from my favourite films, but films that present clear moods. For example, there was the Million Dollar Hotel from Wim Wenders (2000). It’s a story of young adults who are stuck in this weird lifestyle in a hotel and they’d rather die than live - it's just the idea of struggling. It's also very steamy and the city lights are very important, as with mine. I found it very inspiring.

And then for the imagination part, the porn was a little bit inspired by the beginning of the Blue Velvet (1986). It’s like a TV film where detectives find like a piece of ear on the grass. I wanted to use that mood, but more about the mood and less about the style: the atmosphere, the colours. How do they achieve certain atmosphere? That's what's intriguing for me.

Sexuality in the film

The film really embraces sexuality. Even though it's an animation, the content is still very explicit. Was that a hard thing to pitch to production companies?

Buda: I'm working with Miyu Productions in Paris and they were my main producers. And then there was a Hungary production company called Boddah. Both were open to all kinds of topics, so the sexuality was really not a problem with them. I was encouraged, like my French producer Emmanuel told me that ‘you do whatever you want, we’ll find a way to produce it’.

At the beginning it was meant to be a porn film. So it was harder to find a broadcaster. And then there was a moment when I had to decide if there will be penetration in the film or not, but I didn't think it was needed. So eventually, I said, okay, they want the film. So they pre bought it and everything just came up afterwards, all the regional fundings and everything. So it was really like a chain reaction. But I never had the problem with this topic.

I did have a lot of inner struggles to show this level of vulnerability.

Hungary had problems because we didn't get any public funds from Hungary. We only got this tax rebate, which was 30 % of the budget, but we didn't get the national funds at all because this [sexuality] is a topic that Hungary doesn't support right now. We got rejected three times, but then after the Palme d’Or, the film [created] a big scandal around the national film fund’s reputation. So it was very funny. It’s like, fuck you guys!

Intentions for a porno

You said you had wanted it to be a porn film?

Buda: So the beginning, I had this idea that there's two people having sex in some field or somewhere outside. I don't know, it was just an image. And then I thought, okay, but why are they outside? And then suddenly the idea came that they both live at their parents’ place. So at the beginning, there was a boy and a girl who were living at their parents’ places. They had to find a way to find intimacy.

But then the very quickly the story changed. And then I remember I put my bike accident in the picture. The accident actually happened to me. I fell in front of five policemen! I ended up in the ambulance and then I went to the hospital. It was not that crazy - I was conscious. It was a bit of a funny story. Some memories, some fiction started mixing up. And then the whole porn idea was not that interesting to me anymore because this way it could be more sensitive and relatable.

And I just wanted to react because I have a lot of criticism towards mainstream porn. I wanted to do something which is socially sensitive and shows the characters’ background because that's something I used to miss when watching porn. (Even though there are all these new genres and initiations of ethical porn and a lot of new waves, which I appreciate). But still, the majority is quite problematic in my opinion.

 

Escapism

One big theme is escapism. And as I said, I'm in a relatively similar position to Alice, ‘trapped’ in the parents’ home. But do you think that escapism is just part of the human condition? Is that part of what the film is showing, or is it more situation specific?

Buda: I don't know if I can answer this question because for me, escapism was really connected [to being stuck at home] but it lasted even afterwards. It's not like I moved out and suddenly [the need for escapism] stopped. I think it takes time to adapt to the new situation when you suddenly have a new reality, a new environment, doing everything for yourself and paying your own rent etc. For another year or two, it's still quite a challenge to understand that since I'm not living at my parents anymore: I have so much freedom. I think I'm still understanding this. COVID also played a part.

So that's one thing. And then also the addiction - that's another thing that I think you’re more sensitive to when you're young. I think [staying at home] is an addiction. And then when you get older, your addiction changes from alcohol to work or from partying to reading books. In my head, I'm still going to rave parties, but in reality, I got so tired that I can't focus. I don't know, it feels so nice to sleep enough!

And I went to Cannes with a colleague who was 27 at the time, and she just wanted to stay awake until the end of the party, and I had to disappoint her all the time. Like, ‘Look, I'm dying here!’ I need to go to sleep. And, she was working because she was networking her ass off.

 

Next projects

Are you taking time to relax or are you already working on something new?

Buda: Well, I spoke about addiction; now my addiction is pretty much to work. I came here [to Dunkirk] because a friend of mine in the film industry organised a residency with other friends and filmmakers. We’re here for a week and I’ve started writing something new. But I still haven't even talked about it with my producer, so I won't say so much. But yes, I'm working on something new…

Otherwise, I have other projects that I can speak about. I’m doing Crocheted head pieces (like crazy looking masks!) for friends that are totally different. I also have this fine-artsy side that is not related to filmmaking, so I draw and paint a lot. I really like to create things. I used to study fashion, so creating something with my hands is something I miss. It's not the same with animation because you spend a lot of time in front of the computer and I really miss creation with real materials. It's just faster. Also, it takes a day or two to create something and animation takes forever!

Thanks so much for your time, Flora.

Buda: Thank you!

by Ben Hutchinson

27 can be watched online here.