Altötting

“You know, when I was a boy, I fell in love with the Virgin Mary.”

In the small Bavarian town of Altötting, a mother takes her young son to visit a nearby chapel. The boy becomes entranced by the Shrine of the Virgin Mary inside the chapel and begins daily pilgrimages to see his beloved Madonna. His love, devotion, and passion for her continue to grow, until one day his world is crushed by the devastating secret behind her eternal beauty. Mesmerizing, haunting, and deeply personal, Altötting is a coming-of-age story about love, faith, mortality, and shattered illusions.

In this poignant and philosophical animated short, acclaimed filmmaker Andreas Hykade (We Lived in Grass, Ring of Fire, The Runt, Love and Theft) interweaves scenes of quiet, spacious minimalism with flourishes of opulent beauty to create a timeless story of lost innocence.

Script, Director, Narrator: Andreas Hykade
Design: Andreas Hykade, Regina Pessoa
Assistant Director: Orion Schweitl
Animation: Elena Walf, Andreas Hykade, Anselm Pyta, Orion Schweitl
Music: Daniel Scott
Soloist: Bernard Richter
Sound Design: Olivier Calvert
Artistic Director and Painting Supervision: Regina Pessoa
Painting: Regina Pessoa, Alexandre Barga, André Marques, Sara Naves
Technical Directors: Ralf Bohde, Pierre Plouffe, Eric Pouliot
Production Manager: Bianca Just
Funding: MFG Baden-Württemberg, Filmförderanstalt Berlin, Instituto do Cinema e Audiovisual, Ministério da Cultura
Producers: Thomas Meyer-Hermann, Marc Bertrand, Abi Feijo
Co-Production: Studio FILM BILDER, National Film Board of Canada, Ciclope Filmes

[cthulhuseyelash]

What a beautiful piece of art, so tender and full of mourning... This reminds me of my own schizophrenic mother always praying to Virgin Mary when her own invisible demons encroached on her mind and she tried to find explanations for the unexplainable chaos in her head. Just like countless people before her, trying to find solace in the arms of an entity that never answers but always keeps the same loving, unmoving, motherly smile, no matter the despair unfolding before its eyes. But I guess our inner child will always long for a motherly embrace, especially if our own mothers can't help us anymore.

[PappyMandarine]

Below is a comment from a person with the pseudonym of "gap", published 4 months ago. This person gives a very clear and in my opinion correct interpretation of the Virgin Mary character in the animation:
"She's a manifestation of the Church throughout the centuries. The protagonist saw her history, and figured her vital strength came from the hopelessness and need for solace of those around her, so his fascination with her dwindled.
The video encapsulates what happens today with many people who are raised Christian and then drift away from religion over time."

[CosmicWater]

Born and raised in Altötting, I can really resonate to the feelings pictured in this film...

[llartci]

So her secret was to always maintain a motherly-like appearence to comfort people over the decades, no matter the motive...?
when the man realized that, he lost faith in the Virgin Mary and moved on, still haunted by her beauty.
I loved it.

[TimeTheory]

Thanks Andreas, your artistic film making will be an inspiration to future generations. 👍

[user_L]

I didn't cry but my insides flooded with tears. This is very beautiful.

[alexisscarbrough]

I loved every single moment!! Every boot click, every frame! ♡
Damn, my experience was with Jesus, not Mary, and when he died to me, I, too felt empty and haunted. I slowly am coming to see the beauty and safety within myself, rather than searching for it within another person/fantasy father. I have it all right here, inside, so do you (all readers included).
I think that your story isn't yet done♡

[doublebunny]

I don't know how but this animation made me feel the love of that god too. Almost brought me to tears.

[christianheron-batard]

Je ne suis pas sûr d'avoir tout compris mais j'ai trouvé cet animé extraordinaire.
Merci beaucoup.

[gracesoriano]

Then he becomes a cowboy looking for the spirit of the west.

[danisadun]

Saw this one last year at OIAF and could never get it out of my mind. I'm so happy it's online now!

[tylermacdonald]

What the hell did I just watch. The beauty and horror of endless compassion. I want to vomit.

[contentguy]

Amazing story, music great and animation breath taking

[maddie]

Amazing!!! Lmao your other ones will forever have a special spot in my trip memories 😂

[eznomewe]

It's interesting how when Mary manifests to the boy she first appears in the shape of the letter "i", and she regresses into a letter "i" when she leaves.

In reality, as we grow older, we lose much of our that abstract, childhood potential in order to become real, tangible things like doctors, parents, spouses. But a child can be all of those things and more, albeit at a very low resolution. I oftentimes lament the loss of that potential as I grow older; even though I know that I'm sacrificing that childish potential for meaningful, complex roles, I still long for a time when the pleasures and pains of life were simple and not so intense.

It seems like one of Hykade's more favored motifs is that of taking something abstract and universal and growing into something complex and wordly -- and also taking that which is complex and reducing it back into the simple: a single dot, like a fertilized egg in the womb, or the abstract "i" of the Madonna in this film.

[DissonantSynth]

Absolutely immaculate. This touched me

[SilverSoulGD]

Bavarian here :)... just saw the notification and thought "wait what?!"

[LayraAbuyot]

I don't know what these videos have in it but I love it❤❤❤😂😂😂

[doublebunny]

Iove this artist I hope they know we admire their work and that we want them to keep making more :'D

[xU]

This lady was in my first acid trip lol the ring of fire was a good video nice to see the style again