SKRFF

2024

7:03, 4k Video

Collaboration with Corrie Francis Parks, Sandro Nicolussi, Thom Parks

Corrie Francis Parks: Director and Editing
Daniel Nuderscher: Concept and Carving
Thom Parks: Animation and Technical
Sandro Nicolussi: Sound

The SKRFF_ology project began on a chilly winter day in Vienna, Austria, when a group of artists gathered to experiment with spray cans and a utility knife. The public graffiti walls in Vienna were designated as a legal and safe place to spray in 1982 and we wanted to see how many layers of paint were on the wall. Cutting into the wall unleashed an explosion of colorful history and the inspiration for this animated film.

During the process of making SKRFF, we dubbed ourselves skrffologists (sgraffito + urban archeologist), as we spent days carving through the two centimeters of layered paint on the graffiti wall. The work spawned conversations about our limited view of the past from the perspective of the present, Austria’s history of Nazism and the present-day revival of right-wing extremists there and elsewhere, and whether it is ever possible to avoid repeating past mistakes. We also ate a lot of pizza.

Through stop motion animation, the short film SKRFF compresses decades into seconds, documenting traces of the past next to that past moment’s future, now visible in the present. Though history can’t ever be seen clearly, the artists hope that juxtaposing physical abstractions of past and present can sharpen the view for a clearer future.

This animated short is an international success, being chosen into competition by some of the worlds most prestigious film festivals like Ottawa International Animation Festival (2024, world premiere), Animafest Zagreb (2025) and Annecy Festival (2025). The film won the following awards: Best Austrian Animation ASIFA Austria Award (2024), Best Short Blind Walls Festival (2025) and honorable mention Tricky Woman Tricky Realities (2025). 

„Some films tell their story through words. Others rely on characters and emotions. But then, there are films that let the medium itself do the storytelling – films that uncover, quite literally, the layers of history, memory, and artistic expression. These films don’t just show us something new; they make us see what was always there, waiting to be uncovered.

This film embraces that idea with striking originality. What seems like a simple process becomes unexpectedly fascinating, turning something familiar into an evolving canvas of history, memory, and artistic reinvention. Without a single spoken word, it pays tribute to generations of expression, to the ever-changing nature of public art, and to the importance of spaces where creativity can thrive.

With its unique technique and thought-provoking concept, this film challenges the way we view art – not as something static, but as something constantly rewritten, layered, and rediscovered.“ (Juryspeech, Blind Walls Festival)