Father and Daughter (2000) short movie
Father and daughter is a brilliant short movie that won an Oscar for Best animated short film in 2001. Direction, design and story of this 8.5 minute movie are by Dutchman Michael Dudok de Wit, assisted by his co-producers Claire Jennings and Willem Thijssen.
The story:
A father says farewell to his young daughter and leaves in a rowing boat. As the wide Dutch landscapes live through their seasons, the girl lives through hers. She becomes a young woman, gets a husband and children and in time she becomes old, yet within her there is always a deep longing for her father. This is symbolized constantly by her return to the place where father and daughter once separated.
By using pencil and charcoal, Dudok de Wit has truly made a piece of art, not just a movie.
The landscapes are very Dutch (dikes, water, trees) as is Dudok de Wit's use of typical bicycles. His depiction of time passing by is one of the key factors to the success of this film without dialogues. Apart from the American Academy Awards mentioned, this has also been recognized by the British Academy Awards (Best Short Animation 2001), the Dresden Film Festival (Youth Jury Award 2001 for Animation Film and runner-up in Best Animation Film - International Competition), the Holland Animation Festival and film festivals in Canada, Portugal and France.
To get an idea of Father and Daughter, you can see some pictures at http://www.dudokdewit.demon.co.uk/fd.htm. Of course extremely detailed information is also in the Internet Movie Database.