Synopsis

Director's Comment

This story uses the relationship between a child and a doll as a metaphor for the bond between a mother and daughter, exploring the onset of Empty Nest Syndrome. As the child's possessiveness grows stronger, the aspect ratio narrows, showing how love can sometimes take the form of control. When I was a child, I felt like a doll who couldn't do anything without my mother. Now, as an adult, I have developed my own identity and can walk on my own two feet. But when a mother cannot let go of her grown daughter, the "nest" stops being a sanctuary and becomes a cage. I wrote this story after watching my own mother struggle with the emptiness of Empty Nest Syndrome.

Staff

Producer/Scenario/Storyboard/BG Design/Camera NAMGUNG Min

Character Design/Lay Out/Animation/Effect/Sound/Music/Voice/Editing KIM Suah

Program Note

A girl opens a square door and finds a doll with long hair sitting there. She cuts the doll's hair short, trying to keep it by her side. But the doll keeps growing, and at some point breaks free of her hands and starts to run. The girl chases it. The film doesn't explain where the doll is going, or what the girl is trying to hold on to. All that fills the screen is breathing and footsteps. As the distance between them grows, the frame narrows, and the nest that once looked safe turns into a cage she cannot escape. Following the doll as it runs off-screen, we come to the point where love splits from possession, and protection from control. 

KANG Minji