A cracked button travels through war, industry, and decay, silently witnessing humanity’s cruelty while carrying the fragile possibility of hope and change.
A cracked green button travels from a clothing factory to a little girl’s stuffed rabbit, becoming a silent witness to destruction and loss. Through surreal transformations, the button connects the distant worlds of factory production, global trade, and luxury consumption. At an exhibition, visitors look at an image of the rabbit without truly seeing its reality—until a black beetle awakens one person’s awareness.
Director’s statement
The circle shape of a button is one of the pure, basic geometric shapes. When this perfect and noble shape is disrupted by a crack, it becomes a symbol. The circle can also suggest the cycle of human life—the repetition of an endless process looping back on itself—and, last but not least, a button has the ability to bring things together.
My film The Button connects my inner feelings about the uncertainty of the contemporary world with visual elements that have been wandering through my imagination for many years: a white rabbit from whose empty eye figures emerges, black birds rummaging through trash, a cracked button…
The social aspects of today’s world are not reflected in the film as a specific commentary or appeal, but rather as a subliminal experience that runs through the characters’ behaviour and the setting itself.
Country of production
Czechia
Target audience
Young adults (15 to 18 years), Adults (18+)
Animation technique
Cut out animation (graphic engraving foil and painting on the glass)
Production company
MaurfilmEstimated budget
€ 320 000
Funding secured
€ 30 000- development (Czechia), € 120 000 - Czech Audiovisual Fund (production; 45% secured)
Stage of the project
Fully developed; financing
Looking for
Co-producer, distributor, broadcaster, international sales, sound post-production studio.
