Matta und (and) Matto (2023): A charming animated short film by Bianca Caderas & Kerstin Zemp. Explore a unique world of friendship and discovery. Watch now!
🌀 Matta and Matto (2023) — Animated Short Film by Bianca Caderas & Kerstin Zemp
What happens when touch — the most basic human need — is outlawed? In Matta and Matto, Swiss filmmakers Bianca Caderas and Kerstin Zemp imagine a dystopian future where physical contact is forbidden, and the lonely seek refuge in a strange, dreamlike hotel. This 10‑minute animated short is both a cautionary tale and a surreal fantasy, exploring desire, intimacy, and the price of connection.
🧭 Overview
- Genre: Animation / Fantasy / Social Commentary 🎭
- Directors & Writers: Bianca Caderas · Kerstin Zemp 🎬
- Producer: Joder von Rotz
- Runtime: 10 minutes
- Country: Switzerland 🇨🇭
- Language: No spoken dialogue — visual storytelling 🌌
- Release: 2023 (festival circuit)
- Awards:
- 🏆 The Edge of Your Seat Award — Ann Arbor Film Festival 2024
- 🏆 Special Jury Prize — IndieLisboa 2024
- 🏆 International Danzante Award — Huesca IFF 2024
- 🏆 Best Swiss Short Film — Gässli Film Festival 2024
- 🏆 Fantastic Swiss Award — Fantoche 2024
- 🏆 Berner Filmpreis for Animated Short Film 2024
- Festivals: Sundance 2024, Clermont‑Ferrand, SXSW, Anima Brussels, Glasgow, Uppsala, Bogotá Shorts, and more
Watch the short:
📖 Story in Brief
In a society where touch is banned, two enigmatic figures — Matta and Matto — run Hotel Vaip, a labyrinthine refuge for the touch‑starved.
- The Guests: Lonely souls arrive, desperate for closeness.
- The Rooms: Each chamber is a surreal illusion, bending reality to fulfill (and sometimes distort) the guests’ deepest desires.
- The Price: What begins as comfort soon reveals itself as dangerous — intimacy commodified, connection twisted into transaction.
The film doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it leaves viewers unsettled, asking: What happens to humanity when touch becomes contraband?
🎨 Creative DNA & Style
- Surreal animation: Fluid, dreamlike visuals that shift between beauty and menace.
- Labyrinth design: Hotel Vaip is both sanctuary and trap — a maze of shifting rooms.
- Symbolism: Touch as currency, rooms as subconscious landscapes.
- Tone: Equal parts eerie, tender, and hypnotic.
🌟 Themes & Resonance
- The human need for touch: Without it, we unravel emotionally and physically.
- Desire vs. control: How systems regulate intimacy for power.
- Illusion vs. reality: The hotel’s rooms mirror the dangers of artificial substitutes for real connection.
- Loneliness as epidemic: A reflection of our own digital, post‑pandemic world.
✅ Pros & ❌ Cons
Pros
- 🎯 Unique premise: A hauntingly original take on dystopia.
- 🎨 Visual artistry: Bold, surreal animation that lingers in the mind.
- 🏆 Festival acclaim: Widely recognized for its innovation.
Cons
- ⏳ Short runtime: Leaves you craving more of its world‑building.
- 🌀 Ambiguity: Some viewers may find its surrealism disorienting.
💡 Humanized Takeaway
Matta and Matto is less a story than an experience — a fever dream about what it means to crave closeness in a world that denies it. Caderas and Zemp remind us that touch is not a luxury, but a lifeline. In its hypnotic ten minutes, the film becomes both a warning and a mirror: intimacy is fragile, and without it, we risk losing what makes us human.
🔍 Find More & Watch
- IMDb page
- Short of the Week feature
- Ouat Media catalogue entry