Award-winning Australian short film, The Orchestra makes an online debut. Released in 2015, the film is directed by Mikey Hill, with the hand-animated piece, set in a world where tiny musical accompanists follow folks, playing the soundtrack of each person’s life — and introduces Vernon, a lonesome elderly man who always seems to strike the wrong note.
The Orchestra was co-written by Jennifer Smith and Jamie Messenger, with Melanie Brunt of Feather Films as the producer. The short was developed and financed with the assistance of Screen Australia.
The Orchestra, has won many awards including Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Short Animation from FlickerFest, the Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animated Short at Santa Barbara, Best International Short from TAAFI, the Children’s Award from GLAS, and qualified for 2016 Academy Awards consideration.
This is the third hand-animated short by Hill, following Norbert (2007) and The Not-So-Great Eugene Green (2009). He is currently working on an animated documentary short about Laika, the Soviet space dog who was the first animal to orbit the Earth, in between freelancing, travelling and climate activism.