Oct 3, 2023

2024 Academy Awards Short Film Nominees: -Rosemary A.D.(After Dad) - director Ethan Barrett.

Welcome to the spotlight series of Cartoon Brew, which focuses on the 2024 Academy Award-nominated animated shorts. There are several ways in which a movie can qualify. Use these profiles to focus on Oscar-qualified and award-winning films at Oscar-qualified festivals.

Today's film is directed by Rosemary A. from Austin, Texas.D.(After Dad) Director Ethan Barrett. The film was certified at the Austin Film Festival and won awards at the Atlanta, Cairo, Cleveland, St. Louis and Indiana Short film Festivals.

Rosemary AD.It's a touching story about a father facing the terrifying reality of parenting and struggling to know what's best for his daughter. In the film, Barrett asks heartbreaking questions about his role in his daughter's life and whether it is in the girl's best interest for him to be a part of it. The film's hand-drawn crayon animation feels more intimate when you see or hear the filmmakers share all their best and worst thoughts about life and parenting.

Comic Brewing: In the movie, you express a lot of ideas that I think most people had (or something similar), but suppress or shame. Did you struggle to share those ideas - and in doing so there was a personal benefit for you -

The Internet Sun Barrett: All of a sudden, it looked like a taboo. I could not help thinking - she would be better without me - I was ashamed of these thoughts and did not tell anyone. I thought I was alone feeling this way. So naturally, I made a cartoon about it with crayons.

Animation is a difficult and isolated process and is not very recommended for those seeking treatment. But in the end, it was worth it. After watching the movie, people around the world talked to me about their struggles as parents or as children of suicidal parents. Recognizing that other people experience the same journey makes me feel more connected to the world and I hope it opens up a conversation about our mental health.

What made you connect with you and force you to direct a film about this story or concept-

I really wanted to make a film about my mental health, but I couldn't figure out how it didn't look like a selfish cry for help. After Rosemary was born, I was suffering from suicidal thoughts and began journaling the realistic ways her life could go after I left. I wanted to believe she would be happy without me, but I knew it could go very badly as well. But the saddest thing for me was the idea that she could live a life she had never thought of me.

Soon I realized that this would be an interesting movie, and since I was going to be at home, changing diapers and feeding bottles, I thought, why - I would make the last film and proceed to my life. This freed me to be completely vulnerable and make the exact kind of goofy movie I wanted to see.

What did you learn through the experience of making this film, production wise, filmmaking wise, creative, or on the subject-

In opening up, I realized that every person is unique and that creativity is discovering who you are and honing on that person. Having done all the animation, the voice, the sound and the music myself (with the help of producer Tiffany Barrett), this film really has my brain splattered on the screen. But somehow, that vulnerability makes the story more relevant. Also, honest feedback is essential to filmmaking, and without it, movies are not what it is.

The ending changed in the process of making this film. What began as a film about my own feelings evolved as I got to know Rosemary during the first months of her life. She ditched the ambiguous ending I was planning and really made me think about what I wanted to say to her - despite everything, I'm lucky to be a part of her life.

Can you explain how you developed a visual approach to cinema - why did you settle for this style/technique-

As the world turned more into technological advances, I wanted to make something in the opposite way, entirely by hand. I think I just wanted to see if I can do it. So I chose the most basic drawing tool of all of them, crayons. I knew I wasn't going to blow the audience off in the spectacle, so I stripped the film to a childish background and stick figures. I took out scenes and elements that I felt absolutely didn't need to be there. I also quickly noticed that no matter how beautiful my pencil drawing is, the messy and messy crayons make the smallest details impossible. So, I decided to leave the annoyance there on the page. I think it reflects its handmade quality well: people are nasty. That's what it's all about.