AFLOAT

‘Afloat’ is a short animated film on Domestic Abuse based on the poem ‘A Smile to Remember’ by Charles Bukowski. This is a story about courage, a story about staying afloat.

The movie is an attempt at understanding the play between words and images; and exploring different structures of storytelling through the visual interpretation of the poem ‘A Smile to Remember’ by Charles Bukowski.

Thesis

Word-Image Relationship in Visual Narratives

Type

Short Animation Film

Guide

Raja Mohanty

IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

Behind the scenes

Afloat was made as a part of my master's thesis on 'word-image relationship in visual narratives'. The thesis talks in detail about how audio and visual narratives can be related in 3 ways; juxtaposing, complementary and supplementary.

This is an example of the supplementary approach. It relates words to images in such a way that the visuals explore the emotions and nuances of the poem in greater depth, elucidate more than what is apparent in the poem and therefore, add another layer of meaning to the poem. 

Watch this short video presentation to understand the process behind making the short film. 

FPS Rate

7 - 10

Project duration

3 months

Total illustrations

~ 1800

Process

Ideation

Storyboarding

Visual Style

Animation

Editing

Sound Design

Awards

Best Sudent Director

Cannes Indie Shorts Awards

Cannes, France

Outstanding Achievement

Tagore International Film Festival

Kolkata, India

Best Short Film

Bootstrap International Film Festival

North Carolina, USA 

Best Animated Short

Indo Global International Film Festival

Mumbai, India

Award Winner

The NEXT International Film Festival

Kolkata, India

Best Editor

Ritu Rangam Film Festival 2022

Kolkata, India

Best Director

MitreoFilmFestival2022

Caserta, Italy

Best Film

Bollywood International Film Festival

Mumbai, India

Best Short Film

GlobalGirl Media Film Festival

United Kingdom

Best Animation Short

Rome Prisma Film Awards

Rome, Italy