Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis On Honoring the Real Story Behind Their Balletic Animated Short, ‘The Flying Sailor’

The inspiration for The Flying Sailor, the gorgeous, shortlisted animated short from Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, is one that must be heard to be believed.

A sailor witnesses the collision of two vessels in Halifax in 1917, and it leads to the loss of hundreds of lives. As the explosion leads to destruction on land, the sailor is hurtled through the air, and, as he floats over the city, he contemplates his past and confronts the inevitability of death. Tilby and Forbis combined 2D and 3D animation with live action, and the filmmakers were eager to try 3D on.

There is a beautiful fragility to The Flying Sailor. There is a shot where this large, intimidating figure is rendered into a little kid as he swirls into the fetal position in mid-air. Underneath him, we can see the horrifying destruction, and we don’t want him to fly back down to the surface. You automatically place yourself in his shoes, and you hope he keeps ascending to the heavens.

The Flying Sailor is an intelligent juxtaposition. Life is fragile, unexpected, and unforgiving–we hardly get to say the things we want or need to before it’s too late. Tilby and Forbis have created something that we can all resonate with.

The Flying Sailor is available through The New Yorker’s YouTube page. Watch the film below and then check out the chat with the filmmakers.