When her best friend disappears, a young girl must find her missing guardian dog and thus confront her worst fear, of the dark, before it is too late.
A little girl and her old skinny foxhound are inseparable. The hound is more than a pet, he serves as the girl’s guardian, keeping her safe especially after dark. One day though her guardian is gone, nowhere to be found. As the night sets in, the city becomes more and more desolated. The Darkness follows her closely, growing bigger and engulfing everything in its way until the only remaining safe places are underneath the lit street lights. Finally she reaches the last light. There, outside the safe space contained by the light her dog is struggling to fight off the monster but overwhelmed and overpowered, he is pulled to the bottom of the Darkness. The girl now realises that the only way to save her friend is to finally confront her fear.
Director’s statement
This film illustrates my fear of the dark. When I was little, I was afraid to stay home alone, especially after dark. Not because I was seeing ghosts, but because I wasn’t seeing anything and so the possibilities were endless. At some point my mom bought me a dog. All of a sudden my fear was gone since I was never left alone again. But what would happen if my guardian went missing? While working on the film, I realised this fear followed me throughout my life like a shadow, grew into many forms, and changed its meanings while I changed the meanings I attached to people, things, and happenings, so a new question unraveled: what if I sit with it to explore its realms by turning this film into the first of more?
Director
Ana-Maria Gărdescu
Ana-Maria Gărdescu is a graphic artist based in Bucharest. She has a background in Fine Arts and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Animation Directing at the National University of Theatre and Film. In her work she seeks to express visually personal experiences and memories intertwined with fantastic elements.
gardescu.anamaria@unatc.ro
Producer
Georgia Mihalcea
georgia.mihalcea@unatc.ro
Country of production
Romania
Target audience
7-25
Animation technique
2D frame by frame, digital
Production company
UNATCLooking for
postproduction, financing, broadcasting, visibility