2025 Student Academy Award Winners Series Part 3: The Shyness of Trees

The Shyness of Trees, dirs. Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras and Bingqing Shu

The Shyness of Trees is a meditative story about 40 year old Hélène who takes a trip to visit her aging mother. She lives alone in the french countryside, surrounded by thriving plants and garden insects taking up every corner of her home. Hélène knocks on the front door but gets no response, so she lets herself in only to find her mother out in the backyard standing in front of the majestic old oak tree, seemingly unresponsive.

Unphased by the situation her mother starts tending to the houseplants with a big smile on her face. When confronted about the state of her home and the living situation, she brushes it off by simply responding “Don’t get so upset. The plants sense it.”. Infuriated by the response Hélène goes to mow the lawn and leaves her mother to her gardening. With a bit of time and distance the fight blows over, but the more time Hélène spends with her mother, the more she realises that her bond with nature goes deeper than she thought.

This animated short finalist for this year's Student Academy Awards comes from the Parisian art school Gobelins, directed by Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras and Bingqing Shu, with sound and music by Jérémy Ben Ammar. It is a pensive story originating in a familiar setting of the bittersweet autumn years, with the effects they have on our bodies and our loved ones, steadily drifting towards the mysticism and metaphor of what comes next. The film goes head on and tackles the feeling of slowly and knowingly losing a loved one, reflected in Hélène’s sudden outbursts of anger. In contrast to this we see the mother who seems content with having lived a full and rich life, ready to let nature run its course and truly become one with nature.

Ultimately this is a story about mortality, about appreciating the time we have together and about accepting the humbling finale of life in all of its gruesome glory. The soundtrack pairs perfectly with the building storyline and puts emphasis in all the right places without getting overpowering or distracting. The students display an impressive maturity and restraint in their storytelling which many far more experienced directors lack, and it is easy to see why the academy chose the film to be among this year's finalists.

Review by: Robin Hellgren