Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust

Rumours about a mythical free land sow havoc in an ultra-regulated society where citizens wear paper bags on their heads to dissolve their differences. In this stylish sci-fi animation, a well-oiled system with echoes of George Orwell’s 1984, starts crumbling when whispers of a land where freedom reigns begin to spread. The hero, a fresh council member in love with a free-spirited girl, finds himself involved in a complicated net of incidents that open his eyes to a new reality.

Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust is based on Ishan Shukla’s 2016 multi-award winning short and voiced by a star cast including Golshifteh Farahani, Asia Argento, Lav Diaz and Gaspar Noé. Shot using a video game engine geared toward greater innovation and aesthetic control, the film combines 3D and 2D technologies to build cool, sophisticated visuals, architectures with pronounced geometries, and a noirish atmosphere. Shukla revels in classical dystopian topics: a society of control, pervasive brainwashing, amorphous crowds, the impulse toward liberation and the mirrored fear of it. He simultaneously establishes intriguing parallelisms with recent contemporary events – revolts for freedom, civil disobedience and the masked pandemic world.

– Cristina Álvarez-López