Over the barrier

Alix Penon’s delicate graduation film tells the story of a free-spirited beaver who uses twigs and tree stumps as percussion instruments instead of joining in the collective task of building a dam. The title thus has both a literal and figurative meaning: by leaving behind the dam and the colony, our beaver rejects the constraints that limit his horizons and embraces risk. Thus he comes to enjoy a raft of new experiences as he follows the flow of the river, takes on a waterfall and meets a group of frogs who add their own melodies to his improvisations in a glorious final jam session. A tree stump becomes a drum and a bunch of planks are turned into a xylophone. Rendered in clear-line artwork, this film tells the story of a unique path within a group, while also celebrating the power of imagination and an attention to the world and its beauty.