The second season of Lakeside Animation’s horror anthology series Red Iron Road will launch with its premiere episode, “In The Heat,” at Annecy 2023. The episode marks the second short film production collaboration with Look Mom! Productions, and is helmed by the award-winning team of director Sam Chou and writer Ellery Vandooyeweert, who previously collaborated on film festival darling VRDLK: Family of Vurdulak. That Season 1 episode premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival in 2022 and has since won numerous festival awards worldwide.

In The Heat, a 17-minute animated thriller begins with investigators interrogating a man disguised as Santa Claus over a heinous crime. As the plot unfolds, the detectives become increasingly absorbed in the case, realizing that the outcome is intertwined with their own past experiences. The situation becomes more intricate and twisted (and horrific) as the investigators embark on a shocking journey.

Adapted from Russian “Queen of horror” Anna Starobinets’ short story of the same name, “In The Heat” is the only Canadian project selected for the TV FILMS competition, where it will go head to head with high profile shows like Netflix’s Agent Elvis, The Sandman, and Oni: Thunder Gods tale, and HBO Max’s Scavengers Reign.

Red Iron Road is an animated horror anthology series created by Aljosha Klimov and Iouri Stepanov, and produced by Lakeside Animation and Studio Metrafilms Moldova. The first season features 6 episodes based on the works of famous European authors. Since its premiere last year, Season 1 episodes have screened in festivals including Toronto After Dark; Lusca Fantastic Film Fest (Puerto Rico); FilmQuest (Utah); Rojo Sangre Horror Film Festival (Buenos Aires); New York City Horror Film Festival; Tokyo Anime Awards; Nevermore Film Festival (North Carolina); and several others, with over 14 awards and recognitions to date.

“We are thrilled to see our continued collaboration with Sam, Ellery and the team at Look Mom! has been recognized by Annecy,” said Stepanov, Lakeside CEO. “Sam and Ellery are wonderfully talented and richly deserve this honor. We are all excited to share this story with the festival audience this June.”

Chou, Creative Director of Look Mom! Productions, said, “Being selected for the Annecy Film Festival is an absolute honor and a career highlight. Competing with the best in animation on television is a surreal experience. It's a lifelong dream that I have worked hard for in my career, and being recognized by Annecy is a humbling achievement.”

Check out the trailer:

Source: Lakeside Animation