What is the film about?

Finn has stains on his body. One day, he meets a group of cool kids with different stains on their bodies. One day, he understands that these stains aren’t just pretty.

“The Stained Club” is the multi award-winning graduation animation from students at the renowned French animation school Supinfocom Rubika. Dealing with the effects of abuse both physical and emotional, it is both a stirring tribute to childhood, and a warning to not overlook the inherent vulnerability of kids.

A little background information...

I’ve stumbled upon a photography project by Angela Strassheim where she took pictures of seemingly perfect american houses where tragic murders had happened before. She revealed the traces of these murders with a special UV light. That made me link it to emotional and psychological pain: we can’t see it, but it’s there. I wanted to create a story where the character’s pain is visible on his skin. And there you go: Finn’s story was created.

I was hoping it could help take more seriously children’s psychological pain, especially the one caused by our very own parents.

How was the film made?

We mostly used Maya, Nuke, Houdini, Substance Painter. We mixed a lot of live techniques or pictures (cameras, photography references for skies or colors) because that was our intention: mix what we liked in animation AND live.