The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea (1999) is Aleksandr Petrov's animated short, and you can watch online on iFILM. It runs twenty minutes, adapts Ernest Hemingway's novella, and is painted by hand in oil on glass — a technique Petrov works with his fingertips, one frame at a time.

The old Cuban fisherman Santiago has gone almost three months without a catch. His strength is fading, so one morning he rows farther out than anyone sensible would, vowing not to come back empty-handed. A giant marlin takes the line, and a two-day duel begins: the fish drags the small boat ever deeper into open water while the old man holds on through sheer stubbornness and faith in himself. Back on shore, a boy waits — his one real friend.

Every frame looks like a living painting, fluid and shimmering like water under sun. The film took the Academy Award for Best Animated Short and was the first animation released in the IMAX format. It's a quiet, almost meditative piece about dignity and endurance, worth seeing for the craft alone. Stream The Old Man and the Sea (1999) online on iFILM.