Scale (film)


Scale is a 2022 French animated short film directed by Joseph Pierce. The film debuted at the 2022 Critics Week at Cannes Film Festival and was produced by Melocoton Films, in co-production with Bridge Way Films, Endorfilm and Ozù Productions. Scale has received several nominations and awards, including a nomination for Best British Short Film at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards and winning the Golden Zagreb Award at the 2023 Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films. In August 2022, the film won the Oscar-qualifying award for Best Animation at HollyShorts Film Festival, and became eligible for the 96th Academy Awards. The film is also in the official selection for the 2024 César Awards.

Background

The film is an adaptation of the homonymous novella written by Will Self as part of the short story collection Grey Area. Pierce, who read the story as a teenager, felt compelled to adapt the story into an ambitious animated short.

Cast

Plot

An opium-addicted father obsessed with the UK highway system narrates his descent into crippling addiction and isolation, and how he lost his sense of scale.

Reception

Since its release, the film has been selected for various festivals around the world:
YearAwardAward/CategoryStatusRef
2022Annecy International Animation Film FestivalCristal Award
2022HollyShorts Film FestivalBest AnimationWon
2022British Independent Film AwardsBest British Short Film
2022Guanajuato International Film FestivalBest Animated Short Film
2022Raindance Film FestivalBest Animated Short
2022Grand Prize for Best AnimationWon
2022Les Arcs Film FestivalGrand Prix for Best Short FilmWon
2023Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film FestivalAudience AwardWon
2023Moon of Valencia Award
2023Press AwardWon