The Cathedral

Original title: Katedra

2002
7m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Computer Animation Animation Sci-Fi Short

A space fantasy about an explorer who pays a visit to an unusual cathedral built with organic materials.A space fantasy about an explorer who pays a visit to an unusual cathedral built with organic materials.A space fantasy about an explorer who pays a visit to an unusual cathedral built with organic materials.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total

Photos17

+ 11

Top cast4

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Director
- Tomasz Baginski
Writers
- Tomasz Baginski
- Jacek Dukaj
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

7.6

Fallen Art

7.1

Legendy Polskie Twardowsky

7.4

Legendy Polskie Twardowsky 2.0

7.9

Rejected

6.8

Legendy Polskie Operacja Bazyliszek

6.5

7.5

7.5

6.4

7.2

7.3

7.0

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The film was animated and rendered in 3ds Max, painted in Photoshop, composited with After Effects, and edited with Softimage DS. It was rendered and composited in 1.5K resolution for further transfer to 35mm film or HDTV. The work was done over 14 months between October 1999 and March 2002. [Production details presented at the 2002 SIGGRAPH conference]

Goofs
Most takes show the system to consist of three bodies: the planet with the cathedral, the white sun, and the big object that eclipses the sun. The reappearance of light in the cathedral comes from the movement of the big object, and the sun remains stationary relative to the cathedral throughout the movie. Still, in two takes shadows of the cathedral columns/and or rays of lights appear to move relative to the cathedral, as if the sun moved very quickly relative to the cathedral.

Connections
Featured in The Animation Show (2003)

User reviews28

Review

Featured review

A great display of capabilities in CGI

Although perhaps a little light on story, Cathedral is a near-perfect display of computer-generated filmmaking. Rich in lighting effects, computer-designed architecture, and visual invention, the film is just great to watch. As mentioned earlier, the story is a little weak, as the filmmakers chose to tell their story with visuals rather than dialogue. However, because of the fantastic visuals and inventive storytelling techniques, the filmmakers' messages are effectively conveyed. While I don't think this could be the best short film of the year, it is certainly one of the best to look at.