UnFamiliar
Director: Sophia Jean
United States, 2023, 5 min
Festival Year:2024
Genre:Fantasy
Email:sophiamarshallart@gmail.com
Synopsis
A young witch looking for a familiar finds an unlikely ally in a trash-loving possum in this lighthearted romp about growth, love, and garbage.
About the director
Sophia Marshall is a recent graduate of Pratt Institute’s Digital Arts BFA program with a focus in 2D animation. Since her mom said she isn’t allowed to live in a barn with a bunch of feral animals, she has settled for being an animator and illustrator based in Brooklyn NY. She has a particular interest in preproduction, storyboarding, and visual design, and hopes to spend the rest of her life telling meaningful stories.
Filmmaker's note
I have always been inspired by the category of animal that we think of as 'trash animals', by which I mean both literally animals that are scavengers by nature but also the broader category of animals that we have delegated to the fringes of society, that we consider pests and freaks. One of my particular favorites is the humble opossum, North America's only marsupial and by all accounts a fascinating and beautiful creature. So why is it that we write them off as gross and undesirable to society? I wanted to write a redemption story for the possum, a story where a creature perceived as strange and antisocial could be loved not in spite of its bizarreness and penchant for trash, but because of it.
Notes
All ages