The very first co-production between Studio Eeksaurus and Toonz Media Group, the animated musical short Croak Show, has been doing rounds at prestigious international festivals. The CGI project highlighting amazing arrangements of Indian classical music bagged the Relive Award today at the 11th New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival (1-5 November).
From 2,043 films submitted from 90 countries/regions, 66 films were selected for all categories for the short films in competition. The films were screened in competition programs during the festival and judged by the jury for each competition. Studio Eeksaurus co-founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat is presently in Sapporo, Hokkaido to receive the honour.
The inspiration for Croak Show came to veteran animation filmmaker Eriyat during the Covid lockdown, when he found himself quarantined at a remote resort. At night, the absence of human activity allowed nocturnal creatures to dominate the sonic landscape. Frogs, toads, insects, and crickets created a nightly concert that sparked the idea for this story.
The film’s music is composed by the immensely talented Rajat Dholakia and Sameer Uddin. The film features the voices of Salman Ali and Chetan Shashital. Additionally, the sound design is masterfully crafted by Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty.
In the month of September, the core team of Studio Eeksaurus led by Eriyat visited Japan as their project Croak Show won the Audience Award across all categories at the Hiroshima Animation Season. The Hiroshima Animation Season, the main project of the Media Arts Division of the Hiroshima Festival, held biennially since August 2022, is a new animation film festival that showcases animation from around the world, with a particular focus on the pan-Pacific and Asian regions.
“This is a proud moment for Indian animation, highlighting the power of collaboration between Indian companies in creating game-changing work,” Studio Eeksaurus had shared in a statement after winning the Audience Award.