On her first return to her hometown in 15 years, Ema is forced to deal with painful memories which made her leave in the first place.
Young adult woman Emma returns to her hometown for the first time in fifteen years, after she finds out that her father had a stroke. On her return she is forced to deal with painful memories which made her leave in the first place. The film follows the present and the past, which are represented through different treatment of audio and visual elements. The characters from the past are semi-transparent while the sounds are distant and muffled. After spending some time in her family house, Ema finds a bunch of snowballs and recalls that her father was sexually abusing her when she was a child. Each time he would do that, he would bring her a snowball as a gift. Even though he's powerless now, she relives the fear of being close to him and cannot find the strength to take care of him. In the end, she leaves the town again, leaving her father behind, but she still somehow stays trapped in those memories (as the camera passes through the snowball glass and Ema stays inside the sphere).
Director’s statement
The focus of the film is the sexual abuse of the girl by her father.
I decided to deal with this sensitive topic because I believe that we still live in a society in which domestic abuse is largely tolerated as “a family thing”. Furthermore, I decided to talk about the problem of abuse from the perspective of a child as the most vulnerable member of society, and also place the abuser right within the family, to highlight the anxiety caused by the environment which by definition should serve as a safe harbour for its members, but instead they find a threat in it.
The reason I play with present and past in this film is that it gives me an opportunity to represent the power relations between the characters in different periods. In the past, Ema was a powerless child. Now, her father is in that position and she’s the one who has control.
The target audience is adults. The atmosphere is melancholic and anxious. The film is merely focused on the psychological aspect of the protagonist.
Director
Petra Balekić
Petra Balekić acquired her Master’s degree from the department of Graphics and the Department of Animated Film at the Academy of Visual Arts in Zagreb, Croatia. She works in the field of animated film as a director, animator and designer, and conducts creative animation workshops for children. She is the author of four short animated films that were shown at festivals globally, and some were also awarded. In addition to animation, she works in the field of applied arts, illustration and design.
Filmography:
- Stronger than You, 2016, short student animated film, 2’
- Impacts, 2016, short animated film, 1’30’’ (award DepicT! 2016, special mention Random Acts 2016)
- “The Stranger” in my Head, 2017, short animated film, 4’27’’ (award Review of Croatian film 2017)
- Scream, 2018, animated music video, 8’20’’
- Because I Could Not Stop for Death, 2019, TED Conference LCC, animated film based on a poem by Emily Dickinson
petra.balekic@gmail.com
Producer
Maša Udovičić
Maša Udovičić worked as animator and compositing artist for 20 years in Belgrade, Budapest and Zagreb in productions of animated advertisements and series. Since 2010, she has been working as a producer and has produced 13 short films. She has been continuously learning, collaborating with international festivals and educational programs. In 2018, she founded the Animation School for Children. She is a member of Croatian Producers’ Association and ASIFA.
Filmography:
- My Way 2010
- Gamer Girl 2016
- Red Apple 2018
mashaudovicic@gmail.com
Country of production
Croatia
Target audience
Adults and young adults
Animation technique
2D (vector based)
Production company
Luma FilmEstimated budget
EUR 60,000
Funding secured
Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Croatia EUR 50,100 City of Zagreb, Croatia EUR 6,666
Looking for
Sales agents