AnimationWorld Magazine — October 23, 2017
There’s A Riot Goin’ On: Frank Ternier’s Mixed-Media Short Explores the Violence of Social Injustice
Experimental filmmaker, graphic artist and animator Frank Ternier made waves with his 2014 short, 8 Bullets, a potent, multi-layered, hand-drawn tale of murder and revenge that immersed the audience in the primal instincts of criminal pursuit.
Now Ternier has returned with a new mixed-media project, Riot, which explores the intersection between rage and helplessness, marking the point where social injustice explodes into violence.
One of many standout shorts to be presented at this year’s edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Riot is jagged, visceral, and jarring. A blend of 2D and stop-motion animation and live-action footage, it was inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles riots that occurred in the aftermath of the Rodney King trial — which saw the acquittal of the four LAPD officers involved in King’s horrific beating — and the choreography of Krumping, the popular Hip-Hop dance style born in South L.A.
Riot was produced by animation collective Ideal Crash, which Ternier founded in his native France in 2008 in order to devote more time to his filmmaking projects. (Check out the studio’s impressive launch film.) In the nearly 13-and-a-half-minute short film, a young black man is killed in an altercation involving a vigilante neighbor and the police. An indignant crowd gathers, with a sense of injustice running high. The group becomes isolated, however, losing its power and voice. Noting that emotion engenders riot, Ternier’s film ultimately asks, “In the absence of words, can the body take its revenge?”