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2 Lizards. 2020. USA. Directed by Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani. Original music by COQUETA (Episode 2), Flavien Berger (Episodes 3, 4, 8), Asma Maroof (Episode 5), Sienna Fekete and Color Plus (Episode 6), Morris (Episode 7)
In spring 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown in New York City, artist Meriem Bennani and filmmaker Orian Barki took to social media: the pair collaborated on eight episodes of 2 Lizards, releasing a short video every few weeks on Instagram. This animated series chronicled the socially disrupted lives of the eponymous reptiles, voiced by the artists themselves, through a collaborative, diaristic approach that reflected the unfolding of the pandemic in real time. Using a combination of 3D animation and real footage shot, for example, in an empty Times Square, the series perfectly captures the range of emotions particular to lockdown, from dreamlike detachment to anxiety and, eventually, impassioned protest. 2 Lizards is an artistic time capsule that uses humor and poignant emotion to explore the societal fissures that formed around the pandemic, and its intersection with systemic racism.
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