Airlords of Airia is a crowdfunded short film coming out of Germany, just over twelve minutes long. The little gem is meant to be a teaser to an upcoming feature-length movie, set in the same universe. How far the plans and planning concerning the feature film are, I cannot say, but I certainly hope the plans will eventually bear fruit.
The story of Airlords of Airia is rather simple: A transformed version of Earth, some 3,000 years after an apocalyptic event brought about by technology. Mankind has recovered and taken to the sky once more, in massive airships this time.
Airlord Karak, admiral of a fleet of airships, discovers a powerful ancient weapon during an expedition and, after conquering a naval base, plots to seize power of the Airia Republic and drag the entire continent into war. Deputy Lura, head of security of the republic, joins forces with a gang of smugglers to thwart his plans.
The plot is straightforward, fast-paced and not without humor. One particular pearl is the fleet communictaion system installed on the Admiral’s airship: Phonepunk.
Special effects rely on CGI rather heavily and are beautifully done, with the exception of some of the people on the airship docking platforms, who lack detail.
Sometimes, the CGI backgrounds do not blend completely with the live-action acting, but given that this is not a major film studio production it adds to the charm.
Talking of charm: The actors very obviously had a lot of fun during the making of this movie and it made me grin a lot.
Airlords of Airia is one little jewel of a steampunk short film. If you get a chance to see it, do it!
