Film still
Damian Nenow's film is a three-dimensional piece animated to appear as a live comic book, beautifully detailed with consistently sharp images throughout. As the name would suggest, the theme is anarchic and centers on the supposed natural human instinct to hate.
Paths of Hate is a story of hate as an inherent element of human nature. Neither scale nor ideology, which hides behind the veil of that feeling, are relevant. Human life lasts a short while, the next generation remember only the scars - the bloody traces of a path of hatred. The short tale is about the demons that slumber deep in the human soul and have the power to push people into the abyss of blind hate, fury and rage.
An extended action sequence, Paths of Hate is 10 minutes long, and introduces a surreal turn of events that audiences either love or hate. The film drops you right into a gorgeous aerial dogfight, and attempts to show how the singleminded focus of the warrior perverts the intrinsic humanity of both combatants, creating something darker and more evil. However the depiction of this transformation is almost over-the-top in the way it is presented.
The ultimate combat is set in a grey clouded sky. Two planes cut through the winter air, fly in breathtaking high-speed, reckless maneuvers above the snow- covered mountains and icy lakes. Pilot-fighters, driven by blind fury, chase each other and thereby write cryptic messages of madness into the firmament. The eyes of the terrible rivals reflect unquestioning hate. They are ready to cross all limits of aggression. On their way into the abyss they transform into inhuman and distorted creatures that finally become part of the history of hate.
According to the director the dimension of fighting is irrelevant, as well as the ideology behind it. It does not matter whether two people are involved or millions. What remains are only scars.
In a sea of tiring, grim, existential animation films, I wanted to make one which would be primarily entertainment for the viewer. A film which is spectacular and visually attractive. On the other hand I wanted Paths of Hate to be more than another showcase of technical capabilities, full of fighting humungous robots or trolls.
- says creator Damian Nenow of his film.
The combination of attractive, stylised attention to detail and saturated in artistic features with sharp guitar riffs and dynamic 3D animation brings this 10-minute film to life and makes it a audiovisual project as well. Nenow creates his films from the very beginning, assuming that music and sound is no less than half the final result. However, what made the film music for this animation is quite a surprise even for the filmmaker. Nenow has said that he never expected the film to be a huge commercial hit, explaining that
The heroes in my film are anonymous warriors. I was afraid that otherwise the historical context resulting from their nationality would distort the very universal message of the film.
Nenow's film has received numerous awards and honourable mentions, the animation succeeded in Canada and France and received two top awards at the International Animated Film Festival that accompanied the tenth Mundos Digitales conference in La Coruna, Spain. Paths of Hate received the award for Best International Animated Film and the Special Jury Prize for exceptional directing and art directing. The film has been nominated in the Animated Shorts Category for the 2012 Oscars.
PATHS OF HATE long trailer from Platige Image on Vimeo.
Paths of Hate (2010), Poland. Written and directed by Damian Nenow, Producer: Marcin Kobyłecki; Production: Platige Image; Production Manager: Marta Staniszewska; Executive Producers: Piotr Sikora, Jarosław Sawko, Tomek Bagiński; 3D Graphics: Jarosław Handrysik, Jakub Jabłoński, Rafał Kidziński, Bartłomiej Kik, Bartosz Opatowiecki, Kamil Pohl, Krzysztof Rusinek, Łukasz Skurczyńśki, Marcin Stępień, Piotr Suchodolski, Dominik Wawrzyniak; Sound: Genetix Studio, Maciej Tęgi; music: Jarosław Wójcik; Music Performed By: Jarosław Wójcik, Paweł Piechura, Ramez Nayyar; Vocal: Radosław Zander; Film editing: Damian Nenow; Co-Financed By: Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej (Polish Film Art Institute). Duration: 10 minutes.
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