In this :60 titled “Mr. Sun” for Mollie’s Fund, director Kasra Farahani of production house Chromista takes viewers backwards in time through a young women’s emotional struggle with skin cancer. In the first six seconds, our attention is grabbed as a broken glass moves from the floor to a young girl’s hand who is staring up at us from a hospital bed. Her head shaved and oxygen tubes in her nose, all we hear is the sound of beeping from her heart rate monitor and the voice of a girl singing a cappella about Mr. Sun. She sits there, looking weak and defeated.
Everything continues to move backwards as we watch the young women in her hospital gown “un-shaving” her head. In the next shot she is in her bathroom with long flowing black hair, holding a chunk of it in her hands. Her hand moves in reverse back onto her head. We watch as she sits in a doctor’s office “un-hearing” seemingly terrible news and having a large mark on her arm being tested. The spot continues as we find her in her kitchen finding this spot on her arm for the first time, then chopping vegetables in blissful ignorance. In the final shot, the camera pans down from a blue sky and open ocean waters to the golden sand beach that our young girl lays in, singing the lyrics, soaking in the rays of the beautiful day, unaware of what the future holds. A message appears on screen which reads, “Just five sunburns increase your child’s risk of melanoma by 80%.”
Farahani gained inclusion last month in SHOOT’s 2016 New Directors Showcase. He is repped for commercials and branded content through Chromista, launched in 2013 by partners Darren Aronofsky, Sandy Haddad, Ted Robbins, and Scott Franklin.
CreditsClient Mollie’s Fund Agency Area23 Tim Hawkey, executive creative director; Elliot Langerman, David Adler, Ronnie Caltabiano, creative directors; Spencer Magloff, copywriter; Guillermo Aracena, art director. Production Chromista Kasra Farahani, director; Sandy Haddad, Ted Robbins, exec producers; Alexander Alexandrov, cinematographer; Anna Lopez, producer. Editorial PS 260 JJ Lask, editor. Audio Barking Owl
Top Spot of the Week: EHRAC, Animation Studio NOMINT Depict Life “In Limbo” As Families Search For Loved Ones
This animated film titled In Limbo depicts the journey of a heroic woman protagonist representing the countless families in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe (where Chechnya is situated) searching for their forcibly disappeared loved ones. Utilizing theatrical elements, the film highlights the unnatural disruption caused by enforced disappearances and delves into the profound trauma these families endure. It emphasizes their long battles with the domestic authorities as they seek answers. The film also underscores the vital role of community support in helping these families cope and continue their fight for answers, serving as a compelling call to action for justice and human rights.
Through intimate storytelling, In Limbo raises awareness of the ongoing uncertainty that leaves families in a perpetual state of limbo, unable to find closure.
Directed by Afterman--the animation duo consisting of Tsvetelina Zdraveva and Jerred North--and created and produced by London-based animation studio NOMINT, In Limbo was commissioned by the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC).
In a joint statement, Zdraveva and North shared, “Our film takes place on a theater stage, highlighting how such tragedies are far removed from ordinary life,” they continued. “The stage is circular, resembling an artificial, perpetually spinning obstacle course, with a target—the red tail lights—just within sight yet never within reach, symbolizing the family’s never-ending quest for justice.”
“We used a limited primary color palette to contrast the two worlds all families are pulled between. Minimalist compositions of starkly silhouetted characters and environments create the ominous atmosphere of a deeply painful and... Read More