Vele al Vento
by Markus Duffner
Europe, early 20th century. Fishermen set sail in sailing boats for journeys lasting more than six months. Through typical everyday situations, we follow an entire day of life aboard these boats, exploring the fishing techniques they had used for over a hundred years, as well as the legends and tales that lulled them on the high seas. In this short film, the paintings by the Italian artist Pirós are brought to life through the techniques of cut-out and 2D animation, merging fantasy and reality.
Animation
Elmano Diogo, Markus Duffner, Leonor Faria Henriques, Francisco Parreira, Pedro Ramalho
Layering
Gordeeff, Cláudio Roberto
VFX
Milton Andrés Cruz
Grading, Rendering and Finalization
Vítor Carvalho
Born and raised in Italy to a German family, resides in Portugal since 2016. Markus Duffner graduated in Cinema, TV, and Multimedia Production from the University of Bologna (Italy, Master’s degree) and in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Urbino (Italy). Always passionate about Cut-Out animation, he has completed several DIY projects in this technique.
He began working in the film industry in 2005, gaining experience in market events at festivals such as Venice, Rome, Cannes, Montecarlo Comedy FF, and at the magazine Le Film Français (founded in 1944). Since 2014, he has worked at the Locarno Film Festival, where he currently holds the position of Director of Locarno Pro. In 2017, he founded Spamflix, an independent animation production company (that also operated as Streaming service until 2023).
He co-produced the animated documentary King Khat by Uri Marantz, which was selected for the Tallinn Film Festival in November 2023.
Vele al Vento, is his first animated short, reflecting his passion for Cut-Out animation developed through various DIY projects.