Short Film, Short Review: Jesus Orellana's ROSA

Debuting tonight before the opening night screening of Kike Maillo's Eva at the Sitges Film Festival is Jesus Orellana's dazzling animated short film Rosa.

Orellana wears his influences on his sleeve here, Rosa taking obvious inspiration from Ghost In The Shell, The Matrix and the work of video game studio Square Enix. It's a risky move to invite comparison to heavyweights such as this but Orellana pulls it off easily, his own work standing on the shoulders of what came before rather than simply aping.

In a visually astounding world created by Orellana over the course of a year we meet Rosa, some sort of manufactured being who awakens in a world shattered by some sort of apocalypse. Humanity is gone but she is not alone, another of her type lying in wait to hunt and kill any that may come after him.

There's something to be said for a simple concept well executed and this is exactly that. The action crackles, the art direction is gorgeous and the audience is left simply asking when there will be a feature version. Remarkable.