Return to Hairy Hill


Return to Hairy Hill is a Canadian animated short film, directed by Daniel Gies and released in 2023. Blending two-dimensional, three-dimensional and puppet animation styles, the film is based on the true story of Gies's grandmother, who made an effort to keep her siblings together after they were abandoned by their parents but was ultimately separated from them after they were taken into protective custody and was never successfully reunited with all of them in her lifetime.
The film premiered at the 2023 les Sommets du cinéma d'animation.

Plot

In an isolated prairie home at Hairy Hill, Alberta, a young girl shoulders the burden of caring for her three siblings and navigating a dysfunctional relationship with their mother. When the mother mysteriously transforms into a bird and abandons her children, this resilient eldest sister struggles to maintain their isolated existence. As the siblings, one by one, undergo a metamorphosis into animals and forsake her for the enchanting forest, she faces a poignant choice: embrace her own transformation and join them in the vast wilderness of their home or defy fate, embracing her scarred humanity, and venture into the towns and cities of the world to forge her own destiny.

Accolades

AwardYearCategoryStatusRef
Sommets du cinéma d'animation2023Grand Prix Guy L. Coté pour le Meilleur film d'animation canadienWon
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival2023Outstanding Animated Short FilmWon
GIRAF International Festival of Independent Animation2023Top Canadian short Film
VIEW Conference20232023 Grand PrizeWon
Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival2024Daniel Koops Award for Outstanding Film ScoreWon
Festival international du film pour enfants de Montréal2024Prix de meilleur court-métrage d'animation Won
Canadian Screen Awards2024Best Animated ShortNomitated
Prix Iris2024Best Animated Short FilmNomitated