Animated documentary, Non-Fiction
An animated documentary exploring how my mother’s abusive relationship with my father shaped my own experiences in a boarding school as a child in China. The societal pressures on my mother to hide her abuse and her desire to protect me ultimately created a situation where I was subjected to the same societal pressures. Our shared desires for intimacy, safety, and normalcy have been constantly at odds with the realities that surround us. The parallels between my mother’s experiences and my own are abstracted. Through a conversation as adults, my mother and I learn to understand each other and support one another.
Umbilical has won the the Pardino d’argento SRG SSR (Silver leopard) for the International Competition at the 72 Locarno Film Festival, Special Mention for Animation at the AFI Fest 2020, the Jury Award for Animated Shorts Oscar®-qualifying at the New Orleans Film Festival 2020, the Helen Hill Animation Award at the Chicago Underground Film Festival 2020, the best short documentary at DOXA Documentary Film Festival 2020, Canada, honorable Mention For Doc Short at Slamdance Film Festival, Jury award at Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival, the Eileen Maitland Award at the 58th Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Best Animated Short at San Diego Asian Film Festival 2019.
Selected Screening:
MoMA Doc Fortnight 2020, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Vienna Shorts 2020, Denver Film Festival 42 2019, The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival 2020, Outfest Fusion 2020, Palm Springs International short Film Festival 2020, London International Animation Festival 2019, Leeds International Film Festival 2019