Oct 27, 2023

Lone Survivor Finds Light After the End of the World in Stop-Motion Short “The Forbidden Zone”

Colart alumnus Zach Torchinsky has uploaded his Hollywood Short Shorts Festival-winning stop-motion film “The Forbidden Zone” (2021) to Youtube.

Torchinsky began work on this short while at Kalertz before the production was interrupted by the pandemic. He then completed the film in his living room.

The Forbidden Zone focuses on a botanist named Dumont who leads a solitary life isolated in an abandoned train station. Outside is covered in a toxic fog that, if inhaled, causes death. When a creature made entirely of light crashes outside his bunker, Dumont must decide between the safety of his lonely home and venturing into the unknown. Luckily for the viewer, Dumont chooses the latter, straps on an air tank, and embarks on a journey across a dystopian wasteland.

The sets and characters in the Forbidden Zone are well designed and fit the story perfectly. The film's lighting is outstanding, which is important to the storytelling and enhances the appeal of the stop-motion animation.

Tolchinsky and his team have also posted a detailed and informative behind-the-scenes video for fans of the technique.