We Are Born of 3

“We are born of 3” is a three act, narrative short film. A hybrid of film and 2D animation. It is a story that follows Jade as she spends the summer of 1981 in North Philadelphia  with her Great Grandmother, Maris, who has dementia. Although Maris has dementia, Jade experiences the bountiful history of their family through Maris’ stories of her daughter, Lena’s life because in order for Jade to keep Maris calm and unafraid she must pretend she is 14 year old Lena. The imagery will reflect the intersection of family, memory and how they influence our identity.

 

The color and tones of the images are very important as an additional character. The overall tone is vivid, warm, psychedelic feel at times, with close up framing of the face to show the relations through their features as well as the interior homes with all the items passed down from one generation to the next. As witnessed in films like Malakai’s “Souls” and Roni Nicole’s’ “Grace”. The moments of when the stakes are high will be in shades of blue and grey to reflect the intensity of the moments give a nod to the nostalgia found in Carrie Mae Weems’ ‘Kitchen Table Series’ and Cristina de Middel’s, “The Afronauts”. The animation should feel like a moving Monet. 

 

When considering if this film would be animated, I was reminded of the wave of French animation that is both moving and beautifully captures real life stories. One such film is ’I lost My Body' directed by Jérémy Clapin.  Also,  the short film, “The Breadwinner” based on the bestselling middle-grade novel by Deborah Ellis.