Legacy, Ark and the 3rd Letter: The Dark, Post-Apocalyptic Sci Fi Films of Grzegorz Jonkajtys

by Socrates on April 20, 2011

Last night I randomly discovered the amazing short sci fi films of Grzegorz Jonkajtys.

The three movies, that Grzegorz has posted on Vimeo in full, vary in length, style and execution. What is common is that all are situated in a post-apocalyptic setting and, in my opinion, all are strangely mesmerizing with their own unique dark beauty.

Legacy is the shortest of the 3 films. At 2 minutes and 24 seconds it manages to pack not only some cool special effects but also a powerful warning message.

 

Ark is another post-apocalyptic animated film. The plot is set up against the background of a global virus outbreak which has forced the remaining survivors to build huge Ark ships and escape to the seas in search of uninhabited land.

At 7 min long the movie packs a moving musical score as well as some Tim Burton style of dark anime. 

 

The 3rd Letter is Grzegorz’s newest film. At 15 minutes long it is also the only non-animated one.

Perhaps the most disturbing of all three movies, it is set up in a dystopian future where humans can survive their toxic environment only with the help of bio-mechanical pacemakers.

 

Who is Grzegorz Jonkajtys?

Grzegorz Jonkajtys was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1972. He graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1995 and has been working for advertisement, animation and feature film industry for over 12 years.

While working in Poland and USA Grzegorz has contributed as vfx artist and animation lead for such films as Sin City, Hellboy, Blade III, Pan’s Labyrinth, Mist and Terminator Salvation.

He is best known for writing and directing his second film ARK for which he has been nominated for Golden Palm at Cannes film festival in 2007, and won Siggraph Electronic Theater “Best of Show” award the same year.

Grzegorz lives and works in San Francisco.

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  • Kim Solez

    These films are so powerful and dark. It is a challenge to think about how one could create equally powerful resources with an optimistic view of the future. For that we need heroes, a new kind of hero probably not seen before. Surprisingly a recent discussion on Less Wrong discusses heroes as people with fewer intellectual blank spots, fewer areas where they have given up trying to understand things. A novel way to identify heroes indeed! http://lesswrong.com/lw/5a9/learned_blankness/

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