‘TOL’ reveals the crippling reality of fighting the climate crisis

Apr 27

The animated short out of Martinique won Best Caribbean Short Film at the 2021 KingstOOn Animation Film Festival.

Depollution is our mission reads the translation for a decimated, half-buried sign in the opening sequence of TOL as an injured robot limps towards a mound of sand where it scavenges for scraps of metal. It stores the spoils in its round mechanical belly marked P70, processing and protecting the raw material.

We follow this P70 in its singular focus to keep moving and on task. Other robots of the same model move around it, but they don’t interact. Until they’re attacked by flying bots.

It’s night and we meet P84 who seems to have stumbled upon the holy grail, not before a swarm of flying bots chase him and awaken a scorpion-like mega bot, who gets P84 in its clutches.

P84 sacrifices part of a leg to escape, revealing the importance of the glowing life source it earlier found. Before being swooped away, P84 makes one last hopeful gesture.

The efforts these bots went through for a small chance at success is likened to the work of any environmental worker – especially in the vulnerable Caribbean – who sees the devastation around them day in, day out, is fighting against capitalist forces that distend the problem, but continues on their journey, holding on for dear life to a sliver of hope.

TOL was produced by Matthieu Templet-Nadeau, Dylan Attelly, Jérémy Gravinay, Joëllia Rose, Anne-Isabelle Zamant, Stephen Martingoulet, and Tiffani Browne via the Parallel 14 Academy.

This film was screened safely at home during the virtual staging of the 2021 KingstOOn Animation Conference and Film Festival. Visit KingstOOn’s YouTube channel to watch the officially selected films.