BusLine35A
One city bus, three passengers and a back seat scenario they fail to address.
Interview with Writer/Director/Animator Elena Felici and Art Director Aleksandar Komitov
Watch BusLine35A here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I believe the greatest empathy is felt for a movie when it depicts a weakness at the core of our deepest self. Something that makes us struggle. Something we cannot escape and we have experienced before. Like the bystander effect.
The bystander effect always bothered me, it made me feel like I wasn't in control of my own actions. Once in a public area, I became this colder version of myself. Minding my own business only.
I have vivid memories of how apathetic I have been in the past years.
Once, in London, while cycling back home at night I heard some screams.
An old man on his wheelchair was in front of his house, next to him, a young adult whom I believe was his son. The young man was screaming at his father to get back inside, the elderly was replying “No”, with deep sadness. The son was being very aggressive with his replies, promising his dad he would have beaten him up if he hadn’t walked inside. The dad stayed silent.
I stared at the scene for some good twenty minutes, wondering whether to call for assistance or not. I remember my uncertainty and inhibition. I was frozen.
In the end, I wasn’t able to step outside of my private bubble. I cycled away.
When did I become such a hypocrite?
Not many of us recognize when they are inhibited by the bystander effect. True heroes step away from their comfort zone and offer assistance in dangerous circumstances. But, especially as part of a western individualist generation, just the very few of us are heroes.
I find the whole study on the bystander effect and social tribe extremely interesting. It goes much deeper than I expected. A way to educate people to offer help, is to first make them aware there is an issue in our nature and empathize with it. Through BusLine35A, I wanted to illustrate what the bystander effect meant to the audience. So that the next time they experienced something similar, they would have remember about the short they had seen and maybe act differently.
My dream was to be able to influence an audience to that point.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's the end of the year 2022 and most individuals go watch blockbuster movies for the only sake of entertainment and escapism. BusLine35A wants to be something else, as Roy Andersson would put it, it wants the audience to be proactive and engaged in the plot, to make a mental effort. If you're bothered by the monotony of every day's media, then give BusLine35A a shot. You might find it interesting.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I wouldn't say the movie is formalistic, on the contrary, I wouldn't also describe it as realistic. I do actually have to admit that the movie is a bit of a mix of both. It has to show realism in a formalistic way. I discovered this cool word recently: "Idiosyncrasy", it means "a peculiar, particular or eccentric trait". The movie is idiosyncratic, peculiar. Something you haven't seen before. For this reason I have given it more of a formalistic look, even if it deals with a fairly realistic subject.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
It all happened a bit organically. The initial pitch of the movie was focused on the teenage girl being harassed; the whole story was revolving around her. But I found it a very limiting and unoriginal way of approaching the subject. It felt like I was developing a charity TV commercial and didn’t like it at all. The idea of the three bystanders came halfway into outlining the screenplay, from a deeper study of storytelling principles and an interest in idiosyncratic filmmaking. When I got to know the difference between the camera’s and the narrative's point of view through a Podcast called Draft Zero, it opened the gate to so many possibilities: I was going to give the story three different narrative points of view. Once set on splitting the animated short into multiple chapters, it all started coming together. It was just a matter of finding their right order and intriguing, little anecdotes about the bus passengers.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been quite positive, after Festival screenings I often stick around and talk to the audience members. They're intrigued by its thematic and would like to discuss deeper about it.
Most of the viewers I've discussed with so far share with me some of their past experiences being harassed. Everyone has their story to tell and it's stunning how BusLine35A opens a safe space for victims of molestations to interact and express their concerns.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Yes, one in particular from a Jury Member at ITFS Stuttgart this year. During a Q&A, she asked me whether my drive to make movies came from an urgency to talk about subject matters that impacted me. As if through the development of the story I ultimately absorbed it and healed all my wounds.
That analysis surprised me, I had never thought about it, but it's true. All my plots deal with something that is affecting me and have a need to talk about. They're past traumas I never grew from.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
BusLine35A wants to be a message to take action, the more this message is whispered around the globe, the more it will heard.
The movie tells a very personal story, and I want to make sure it receives the attention is deserves.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Producers to finance upcoming projects. Journalists & Film Festival Director's to increase BusLine35A's exposure. Cinephiles to nerd around movies.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The best outcome I could dream of is for the audience to feel the need to discuss about the subject of the movie after the screening. The movie is meant to make us reflect upon who we are, about our human condition.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Had you been on the bus, would you have acted any different than the bystanders? If yes, how?
Would you like to add anything else?
SUMMARY:
BusLine35A wants to be a message to take action.
Inspired by the mastery of Andersson and Hertzfeldt, this dark comedy short deals with the consequences of the bystander effect. It highlights the contrast between two parallel scenarios -- a meek teenage girl being harassed and three bus passengers avoiding to take action.
The movies focuses on the weakest point of the human condition: VULNERABILITY.
We are not always strong and heroic, we have our weaknesses. At times we act apathetic and don't want to show it, instead we create a narrative in our head to cope with the outside circumstances.
This narrative is represented by an ironic and mundane tone where the main characters, displaying almost no emotions towards the disrupted surroundings, look a bit ridiculous and inept.
Lastly comes the Narrative Voice: a whimsical tool misdirecting the audience from what the actual movie is about. The viewers have to be proactive in order to understand what the substratum of the story is.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We're all scattered around Denmark and France. Most of us are working on animated series. I am currently doing PreVisualization for Dark Matters (France) on a feature movie commissioned by one of the main Online Streaming Platforms. In my spare time I am developing a new IP.
Interview: December 2022
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
BusLine35A
One city bus, three passengers and a back seat scenario they fail to address.
Length: 6:00
Director: Elena Felici
Producer: Michelle Nardone (The Animation Workshop - VIA University College)
Writer: Elena Felici
About the writer, director and producer:
ELENA FELICI is a young Italian independent filmmaker and Visualization Artist based in Viborg, DK. She enjoys collaborating with Directors and Storytellers to develop original content, in her free time, she fiddles with Unreal Engine and fixes hardware.
MICHELLE NARDONE has been Head of Studies for the Bachelor in Animation and CG Arts at The Animation Workshop - VIA University College until January 2021. She culminated the many voices of industry, staff, guest teachers and students into the mission to cultivate empowered professional artists.
Key cast: Elena Felici (Director, Writer, Editor, Previz Artist, Animator), Gertrud Hjorth (Animator), Nina Andersen (Production Manager, CG Generalist, Storyboard Artist, Visual Development Artist, Post Production), Aleksandar Komitov (Art Director, CG Generalist, Visual Development Artist, Post-Production), Mia Strøm (Art Director, CG Generalist, Visual Development Artist, Post-Production), Asger Langhoff (Technical Director, CG Generalist, Post-Production), Matilde Landi (Story Consultant, Storyboard Artist), Kristin Cederman (Visual Development Artist, CG Generalist), Anna Bonnen (Animator, Visual Development Artist, Production Assistant), Erika Grace Strada (Lead Animator), Helena Schulin (Character Modeler), Thomas Christensen (Sound Mixer, Musician), Thomas Ahlmark (Boom Operator, Voice Recording), Hannibal Glaser (Lead Actor - Harasser), Anna Czeszejko (Lead Actress - Victim), Michelle Nardone (Lead Actress - Narrator), Rasmus Bøgelund (Musician), Uriel Kranot (Musician), Andrea Martignoni (Sound Designer)
Looking for: journalists, sales agents and film festival directors
Facebook: BusLine35A
Twitter: @kher_elena
Instagram: @busline35a
Hashtags used: #Stop-Motion, #CGI, #Human Condition, #Sociology, #Psychology, #Bystander Effect, #Crowd, #Caricature, #Childish, #Stares, #Heroes, #Bus Journey, #Long Takes, #Observant, #Apathetic, #Harassment, #Take Action, Molestation, #Violence Against Women, #Animated Short, #Animation
Website: www.elenafelici.com/bus-line-35a
Made in association with: The Animation Workshop - VIA University College
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Animakom Fest 2022 / Bilbao, Spain - 12-19 December 2022; Karama Human Rights Festival (HRFF) / Amman, Jordan - 15-21 December 2022