Florida Film Festival / Movies by Moonlight - Ann Arbor 2019 – Code Ruth
A true love story about a Morse code instructor finding her path during WWII. Code Ruth blends stop motion techniques and archival materials to share a family's history of connecting through technology.
Interview with Director/Animator Caroline Voagen Nelson
Watch Code Ruth here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
In this film, I wanted to tell a historic story about an empowered woman working with technology and in a leadership position. Code Ruth is inspired by my grandmother's story: She was a WWII Morse code radio instructor, which led her to meet my grandfather. My mixed-media animations are inspired by lesser-known stories from American history. As I began learning about Morse code, I became fascinated by the abstractness of the language but also to the similarities of how we communicate with smartphones today.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Code Ruth is a heart-warming family story. The short animated doc is about a family coming together through a unique language being taught during WWII. The style of the film is created with stop motion animation and using tactile, hand-drawn props to create an impressionistic and whimsical mood.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film is a personal family story yet it explores universal themes of communication, love at first sight, and how the past connects with the present.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script developed from multiple phone conversations with my mom about my Grandmother, Ruth. Since we lived in different parts of the country at the time, my sister recorded my mom talking to me on the phone and we pieced together based on many hours of conversations. It really became a family collaboration. After completing the film, my mom actually found an envelope hidden in storage: revealing Ruth's Morse code diploma, her coding score, photos from graduation, etc. It was interesting to make an animated documentary based on my mom's oral storytelling without knowing about these documents, and I made sure to include them in the credits at the end.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I've had people of all ages tell me how much they've enjoyed the film, but my favorite feedback has been from viewers who would tell me this reminded them of their own stories; their parents who also knew Morse code, how they remember similar experiences of women during that era, etc. The feedback overall has been positive.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
At Q&As, I've been most surprised by the number of viewers who had a relative that used Morse code or were part of a community involved with the language ... a few were part of a Morse code preservation society. It's been surprising and heartwarming to see the level of appreciation for docs about history and technology.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Your website has a very nice collection of independent films and I appreciate the quality of interviews and profiles of films and their filmmakers. I would like Code Ruth to have more visibility for a larger audience and to be considered for future screenings at other festivals, theatrical venues, and digital screening platforms. I would like to also expand visibility for my future projects currently in production; similar mixed-media animated docs inspired by history.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I'm interested in conversations with all of the above, both for programming the film in festivals and for distribution - as well as for future collaborations in similar projects.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like this film to inspire female empowerment and to make connections with the technology between the past and present: how an abstract messaging technology from the past is quite similar to our texting today.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Texting has become a predominant way to communicate - but what if all you had were dashes and dots, and actually fell in love? In various "competitions" it's been proven it's still faster to Morse code than to text. What can we learn from past technologies of communication?
Would you like to add anything else?
In the film, the dashes and dots animated form real words and phrases. The stop motion scene of teaching Morse code is using the J-37 device from WWII. Most materials were created based on reference archives dated from 1942.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm currently working on a modular animation project about the history of economics and the land. A few chapters of the project were part of a museum installation this past winter and will continue to develop into a longer animated doc and installation.
Interview: April 2019
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
Code Ruth
A true love story about a Morse code instructor finding her path during WWII. Code Ruth blends stop motion techniques and archival materials to share a family's history of connecting through technology.
Length: 4:00
Director: Caroline Voagen Nelson
Producer: Caroline Voagen Nelson
Writer: Caroline Voagen Nelson and Katy Nelson (Script Supervisor)
About the writer, director and producer:
CAROLINE VOAGEN NELSON is a new media artist working in animation, digital art, and installation. Nelson's practice has evolved from deconstructing environments in photomontage to creating animations inspired by American history and fabricated mythologies. Her work has been shown at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Aperture Gallery, the Florida Film Festival, Animasivo el Festival in Mexico City, Filmarchiv Austria, and the Museum of the City of New York. She received her BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA in Digital Art with a focus in Animation at Pratt Institute. She currently is an artist-in-resident at MWPAI art museum and will be working on her current film in production at MASS MoCA residency this summer.
Key cast: Narrator: Carolyn Nelson
Looking for: journalists, distributors, producers, buyers
Facebook: Code Ruth
Instagram: @cvoagen
Website: www.cvoagen.com
Other: Vimeo
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Movies by Moonlight / Ann Arbor