Sophie Smiles, a graduate of the Illustration BA Honours course, screened her short film We Are Fireflies at the Raindance Film Festival, where it was one of five films nominated for Best Animation Short.
We Are Fireflies is a graphic autobiography of a young woman’s experience of violence and silence. The film was screened at the Curzon Soho on 29 October as part of the Raindance Film Festival’s programme. The festival is the largest independent film festival in the UK and held its 31st festival in 2023. The festival is officially recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences USA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the British Independent Film Awards.
Speaking about her film, Sophie said: “Inspired by leading research in intergenerational trauma, I wanted to express the complexity of the lived experience. I used chalk and charcoal illustrations and an original underscore to express the depths of the psyche.
“We Are Fireflies tells a deliberately fragmented and ambiguous narrative - since that is what trauma is like - and documents a mother and daughter’s own experience of violence and silence.”
Illustration BA Course Leader Emma Dodson said: “Sophie had impressive dedication, ambition and a very mature approach to developing her We Are Fireflies animation for her final year Major Project. A need to communicate a message rooted in personal experience gave Sophie a strong motivation to try out heaps of ideas and test different media, processes, technology, feeling her way through the difficult theme and very personal family history.
“The final animation, designed to be presented as an installation with impactful soundscape, had audiences spellbound at the Illustration BA Degree Show in May 2023. Those confessing no artistic experience or knowledge were intensely moved by the way Sophie wove narrated fragments, cycles of repeated themes, symbolic imagery and elegant drawing into a moving poem and a compelling exploration of trauma. I am so happy that this beautiful little film has gained a wider audience and much deserved attention at Raindance and other festivals.”
Learn more about Art, Design and Visual Culture courses at the University of Westminster.
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