What is the film about?

In a secluded boxed home floating in the void a ‘Wish you were here’ text is sent. But who or what is to blame for the silence it is met with? The film follows a hairless creature, burned and singed by the harsh flames of life, as they recall how they have come to the point of complete isolation.

What influenced it?

The film explores introversion and the difficulties that come with being an introvert. I took inspiration from introverts around me (myself included) for the main bear-like creature and thought about how to create a relatable character that goes about tackling the nature of maintaining friendships and dealing with social obligations in an apocalyptic setting. I wanted to create a friendship group that somewhat resembles children’s TV show characters but place them in a dark and cryptic story-scape. I also wanted to create a non-linear narrative inspired by poetry, to leave more room.for interpretation on the viewers behalf.

A little background information...

I made it as an ode to introverts and neuro-divergent minds. We began making the film during lockdown and so with the apocalyptic feeling of the time, we naturally formed an ‘end-of-the-world’ narrative. I also knew that I wanted to include the Welsh language to contribute to the Welsh short film scene.

How was the film made?

The film is 2D animated and was made with TV Paint and then edited and put together in After Effects. Niamh gave me a poem to begin with that explored themes of isolation and loneliness. I then created the storyline based on the poem, centering it around a shy hairless creature set in an apocalyptic world. I began with a more linear narrative- the creature has a friendship group, it loses ties with this group, then begins creating pretend friends made out of sticks that resemble the friends it once had. After I formed this storyline I played around with timing and memory in the hopes that it would let the viewer decide whether the creature is it’s own cause of loneliness or whether their disappearance is down to a bigger cause- this being a natural disaster that ends with the world going up in flames.