The term ‘Genius Loci’ originates from Roman mythology and refers to the protective spirit of a place or location.

Reine, a young and solitary person who is going through a bad phase in her life, one night ventures out and experiences urban chaos. The message of the film is not obvious, and it’s because not even Reine understands the world around her, let alone when she’s constantly seeing visions.The film has interesting scenes where blown papers turn into dogs, a woman bursts into flames, an apple suddenly becomes a telephone, and so on. These scenes lend themselves to varied and interesting interpretations.

‘Genius Loci’ is directed by the French animator Adrien Mérigeau, who also did Old Fangs in 2009. Brecht Evens is the artistic director. Brecht’s style is colourful and expressive, and blends perfectly with Mérigeau’s creative instincts.

The inspiration for the storyline of the film came to Adrien from two sources: The relationship between a poet and their spirit and the mystical place where ideas come from; and the fact that run down parts of a city which are open spaces full of broken stuff can sometimes feel like the middle of the jungle. If we, for a moment, keep aside the sense of meaning to things around us and just observe or listen to them, we can see beauty everywhere.

Described variously as playful, inventive and thoroughly breathtaking, ‘Genius Loci’ is a short that pushes the boundaries of animation, and sets one thinking.