The Merry-Go-Round

A ride on the carousel brings a smile to the faces of young and old alike. But maintaining it is difficult and the adjacent building work threatens to push the colourful attraction out of the cityscape... In just a few minutes, this poetic short film tells the touching story of one of those Argentinian showmen who have dedicated their lives to enchanting children and their neighbourhood and making them happy. It is a story about perseverance and community beyond individualism, but above all a story about pausing in solidarity in the face of an urban turbo-modernity that threatens to rob people of their dreams, their imagination, even their senses. Director Augusto Schillaci can look back on a long career in animation. Over the past 20 years, he has worked at Reel FX Animation, where he directed animated short films for ‘Best Friends’, ‘LEGO Batman’, ‘Transformers’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Schillaci: ‘Many years ago, during a visit to my home town of Buenos Aires, Argentina, I met Don Luis, a 93-year-old “Calesita” (carousel) operator who is still actively working on his Calesita. I was immediately impressed by his passion, dedication and love for the city. I remember asking a mum who was riding one of the Calesita carousels with her daughter: ‘How long have you been bringing your child here?’ She replied: ‘Since she was born, and I used to come here as a child too!’ I began to understand what this man and his Calesita meant to the generations in the neighbourhood.’