A Lone Survivor Finds Light After The End Of The World In The Stop-Motion Short ‘The Forbidden Zone’

Calarts alum Zach Tolchinsky has uploaded his Hollywood Shortsfest-winning stop-motion film The Forbidden Zone (2021) on Youtube.

Tolchinsky started working on the short while still at Calarts before the pandemic shut down production. After that, he finished the film in his living room.

The Forbidden Zone turns on a botanist named Dumont, who lives a solitary life quarantined in an abandoned train station. Outside, the world is covered in a toxic fog that is fatal if inhaled. When a creature made entirely of light crashes outside his bunker, Dumont is forced to decide between the safety of his lonely home or stepping out into the unknown. Fortunately for the viewer, he chooses the latter, straps on an air tank, and embarks on a journey across a dystopian wasteland.

The Forbidden Zone’s sets and characters are well-designed and fit the narrative perfectly. The lighting in the film is exceptional, important given its narrative, and enhances the qualities that make stop-motion animation so endearing.

For fans of the craft, Tolchinsky and his team posted a detailed and informative behind-the-scenes video as well, seen below.