ANIMATED DIARIES OF WAR: COFFEE

ANIMATED SHORT FILM BASED ON AN AUTHENTIC INTERVIEW WITH A UKRAINIAN FAMILY WHO ESCAPED RUSSIAN SHELLING.

mp4, 00:05:10, 1920 x 1080, 29,97 fps, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Fresco, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, Stable Inpainting

An animated short film based on an authentic interview with Olha Ostapenko and her daughter Milana, Ukrainian refugees who survived the first weeks of the war in their native city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine. We recorded this interview in Belgium in April 2022. As I’m writing this in December 2024, the Sumy region is still being shelled.

This is an independent production on the intersection of journalism and animation, combining hand-drawn assets and the latest generative AI models as a conceptual choice.

This is an attempt to escape the newsreel imagery of war that we no longer process, either because we have gotten used to it or in order to stay sane. This is an attempt to see the reality of war without having the excuse that it’s too much to look at. This is an attempt to preserve a witness testament in the form of a piece of art.

COFFEE has just has been selected to be part of the programming for Runway's new generative video streaming platform, Runway TV

SCREENINGS:

9/18/23 Animaze - Montreal International Animation Film Festival 2023 at MBAM - Musée des beaux-arts Montréal (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Cinema) in Montreal, Canada

9/22/23 - 9/30/23 Boston Film Festival, virtual screening

9/23/23 CUT International Short Film Festival at Levoy Theater, Millville, NJ, USA

10/4/23 - 10/7/23 Tokyo International Short Film Festival, virtual screening

10/12/23 Lost River Film Fest at Price Center, San Marcos, TX, USA

10/14/23 Indigo Moon Film Fest at CAMEO Art House Theatre, Fayetteville, NC, USA

10/14/23 Cynon Valley Film Festival at at The Mezzanine, St Elvan’s Church in Aberdare, Cynon Valley, South Wales UK

11/11/23 Reel East Texas Film Festival at Texan Theatre, Kilgore, TX, USA

11/10/23 - 11/15/23 on Pixquid.com

11/12/23 The Monochrome Film Festival at Whirled Cinema in Brixton, London, UK (cancelled)

12/7-8/23 Festival Academia de Cine Antigua at the Spanish Cooperation movie theater in Antigua, Guatemala (exact date to be announced)

12/8/23 PTAKH - Ukraine International Film Festival in UK, Theater Latest Musicbar in Brighton, UK

02/10/24 Frozen River Film Festival at Winona State University Campus - Miller Auditorium in Winona, Minnesota, USA

02/11/24 Frozen River Film Festival at Winona State University Campus - Somsen Auditorium in Winona, Minnesota, USA

03/03/24 IDFF Artdocfest/Riga 2024 at Zuzeum in Riga, Latvia

03/23-24/24 Always Late TV Movie Awards 2024 at Hatheway Hall at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, IL, USA (exact date TBA)

AWARDS:

Official Selection • out-of-competition screening, IDFF Artdocfest/Riga 2024

Official Selection • Always Late TV Movie Awards 2024

Best Documentary Animation • Bridge Fest 2023

Best Animation • CUT International Short Film Festival 2023

Best Animation Film • European Cinematography AWARDS (E-CA) May 2023

Best Animated Film & Best Editing • 8 & HalFilm Awards May 2023

Best Animation Short • American Golden Picture International Film Festival May 2023

Best Animated Film & Best Original Short Film • Frida Film Festival June 2023

Best Animation Short Film • SFAAF, South Film and Arts Academy Festival June 2023

Best Short Documentary & Best Animation • New York Neorealism Film Awards June 2023

Gold Award: Animation • New York Movie Awards June 2023

Honorable Mention • NYIFA, New York International Film Awards May 2023

Special Mention • One-Reeler Short Film Competition Los Angeles 2023

Honorable Mention, AIMAFF • Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival May 2023

Honorable Mention • World Indie Film Awards July 2023

Finalist • DOC LA, Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival 2023

Finalist • CACA, Canadian Cinematography AWARDS May 2023

Finalist • NYCA, New York Cinematography AWARDS May 2023

Nominee • FACA, Festival Academia de Cine Antigua 2023

Official Selection • PTAKH - Ukraine International Film Festival in UK 2023

Official Selection • Frozen River Film Festival 2023

Official Selection • The Monochrome Film Festival 2023

Official Selection • Cynon Valley Film Festival 2023

Official Selection • Tokyo International Short Film Festival 2023

Official Selection • Shortcut 100 Film Festival 2023

Official Selection • 39th Boston Film Festival (BFF)

Official Selection • Lost River Film Fest 2023

Official Selection • Indigo Moon Film Fest 2023

Official Selection • Montreal International Animation Film Festival - ANIMAZE 2023

Official Selection • Reel East Texas Film Festival

STILLS AND PROCESS: