Michael Dudok de Wit

The dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.

A father says goodbye to his young daughter. In time the daughter grows old, but within her there is always a deep longing for her father.

Grand-Jacques the postman watches a mysterious wicker basket slowly float down from the sky and discovers a baby holding a small bell, and the adventure starts.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl, born on the same day as her father, Alpha. That little girl is me, Alpha Two. And this is my story. Since my mother passed away, I've been living with my father. He's a journalist. I listen to him on the radio, and we often play football together. But one day, soldiers attack my father and his radio station, forcing him to flee. Before he left, he promises he will find me again. Now, I am alone, but I am Peuhl. My mother and I are people of the water. Like her, I am a flying fish. I help my father cross the skies, deserts, and seas, guiding him on his journey to Europe. And today, I can finally meet him again.

A plump and exuberant monk goes fishing, and a playful fish eludes him. First the monk uses a rod and reel, then a net; over and over, he ends up fish-less and wet. Sleepless, he tries luring the fish at night with a bank of candles. He tries a bow and arrow. The tireless and insouciant fish leads the monk through a viaduct, over irrigated steppes, across cisterns, down canals.

The Aroma of Tea is a 2006 Dutch animated short film made by Michaël Dudok de Wit. It shows how a small sphere travels in a determined and rhythmical manner through landscapes, emerging at the end into a larger sphere of white light. Both the graphic brushstroke and the music, with its haunting rhythms, are strikingly simple and direct. The theme of the film, a quest followed by a union, is as old as time and recognizable despite its limitless variations.

A man interviews people. Michael Dudok de Wit graduated from the West Surrey College of Art with this film.