Ice Merchants

Created by Portuguese director-animator-illustrator João Gonzalez, the film follows a father and son, who, every day, harvest ice from their mountain perch and then parachute off their deck to deliver it to the valley dwellers far below. Then, coins in hand, they return to their altitudinous home using an ingenious contraption and prepare for another day, the same as the one before. While the dualistic absurdity/familiar comfort of repetitive labor is one theme of the film, Ice Merchants also explores how daily rituals serve as a foundation for human relationships and how the breaking of these connections interacts with these seemingly mundane routines. The floppy hats father and son lose to the wind on each dive to the valley are replaced with new ones, while a yellow coffee mug is unused, yet brooded over. Gonzalez describes the film as “a family drama about loss and family connection.” 2023年奥斯卡最佳动画短片提名