For Stockholm-born and Barcelona-based illustrator Petra Eriksson, movies are an escape, an inspiration and a vehicle for making sense of herself and the world.
“It’s a tool to understand other situations differently, or even understand my own situation better by getting a new perspective or recognizing something I’ve been through in someone else’s story,” Eriksson—one of the the seven international artists who re-envisioned Oscar for this year's campaign—says.
“I feel like it helps me open up new connections between ideas and emotions, which definitely affects me when I create my own artworks.”
Petra brings Oscar to this place in her design, swept up in color and movement.
“I wanted to create the feeling of being in a state where you’re surrounded by notes of another world,” she says, “whether that’s a photo so vivid you can imagine the scent of the scenery or a song that brings out a certain emotion in you by reminding you of a forgotten memory.”
Here are Eriksson's top picks for the movies that most inspired her.
I’m a huge fan of all Hayao Miyazaki’s movies but this was the film that introduced me to his universe and therefore it’s extra special for me. His way of building multifaceted characters and the way his stories manage to balance light and darkness always draws me in. There’s also something very special with the way he works with color and perspective that always makes me want to step into this other world. This film takes you on an emotional journey.
With all its emotions, beautiful scenery and great conversation, this film is the greatest of love stories. The attention to details and the subtle nuances in this film are so on point that you feel every feeling and experience every moment in this film almost as if you were there yourself. It’s a film that stays with you and that you want to return to.
This documentary about style icon Iris Apfel is an absolute gem! There’s so much in her personality, style and life story that inspires not only the work I do (with a love for patterns and bold colors) but also how I want to live my life. I often think about Iris when it comes to questions about what kind of experiences and adventures I want to look back at during the end of my life. This documentary reminds me to be more playful, to not automatically fall in line with the structures of our society and focus on the things that create joy.
When I watched this in the cinema I became completely knocked out by the special strengths of it. This is the first time I remember watching a film where not only sound, but silence, was used as a tool
to tell the story and portray the emotions of each scene. The muted colors and the darkness suits this film so well, you can feel the chilly dampness of the London air and almost smell the tweed. There’s also something extraordinary when you’re sucked into a film where the acting is so good that you don’t know who you can trust.
I must admit that I’m a bit of a sucker for British period dramas. It’s something with the combination of cute villages, grand houses, green hills, voluminous dresses and the pleasure of afternoon tea that makes me feel very happy. When that story is, as in this case, combined with characters that are out of the ordinary, that makes it even more magical. The humor, darkness and the incredible acting makes me want to dig deeper into the personality of each character, and as someone who loves to draw portraits, that is a great inspiration.
