Is the monthly curse actually a gift?What's in a name, there is only one central character in 'The Gift', a tall raven haired women named Brigid. Brigid is not our attempt to summon some of the loveable quirks of Bridget Jones - teamed with Laura's well known ability for spelling almost every word wrong - but is in fact the name of the the pre-christian Irish goddess of spring and fertility, which seemed fitting.
The film has alot of reserch built into it and has many little hiden easter eggs, the film is both about witchcraft and the fact that a womens menstral days are meant to be her most powerful. It is also a wry look at cultural and historical taboos surounding menstration and women kind. One taboo that hasn't made it into the film, was the idea that women on there periods can't make bread or dough as it won't rise- why this is, isn't really specified, but it seems strange to us that at a time when a women is already feeling fragile and often physically drained, that you would blame some run of the mill misfortune or change in tempature of her body? With film and espeshally animtion your able to play with the norms of the world. Forces such as gravity and ideas of logic don't have to exsist. In this way magic can exsist and although these tropes are often unplesant and constructed to make women feel guilty and ashamed of there bodies, they could be seen as magical and amazing, if you can a harniss a idea created for the negative, it makes sence that you can harniss it for the positveity.
0 Comments
We have been incredibly lucky to work with the amazing talent that is Karl James Montford for this film, he has created are lead character Brigid. You can check out his work on his website. As always we will be working with our amazing co-founder and Design witch Hannah Stevens, who has been creating all the storyboards and backgrounds for the film, and lending a helping hand with the animation.
Co-founder Laura-Beth Cowley has recived a development funding opportunity as part of the calling the shots inituative in Bristol, to help us make our next short film ' The Gift' which is short 2D animated film about witchcraft, menstruation and the power women hold within. Focusing on a mix of cultural bad luck tropes associated with menstruation, if we take these superstitions as truths why can’t they be seen as a form of magic themselves?
We are so happy to have been given this opportunity and super excited to begin working on the film in earnest! |