Experiencing Interruptions?

Aberration

Tuyen is a Hikikomori – withdrawn from society she exists confined to her room by her own choice, deeply afraid of the outside world, which she loathes and yet longs for. The only human interactions she has are in her dreams and with her caretaker, her father, when he brings her meals. One day her cycle is broken by chance and Tuyen has to decide if she will face the outside world again.
The Hikikomori are a growing, world wide phenomenon - but still largely unknown to society. The current pandemic will likely accelerate their numbers and this film aims to make them more known to the general public.

  • Roxane Llanque
    Director
  • Roxane Llanque
    Writer
  • Roxane Llanque
    Producer
  • Marque Pham
    Key Cast
    "Tuyen"
  • Cinematographer: Carlos Laux y Silió
    Crew
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Social realism, Anthropological Drama, Docudrama
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 3, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    120 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Filmarche
  • Madrid Human Rights Film Festival 2020
    Madrid
    Spain
    December 3, 2020
    January 12, Berlin, Germany
    Semi-Finalist Short Film
  • AltFF Alternative Film Festival 2020
    Toronto
    Canada
    December 27, 2020
    Canadian Premiere
    Winner of AltFF Winter 2020 BEST FIRST-TIME FILMMAKER INTL SHORT
Director Biography - Roxane Llanque

Roxane Llanque is a young writer and filmmaker from Berlin. She has worked as a journalist and written on Film, environmentalism and LGBT related issues. Since 2018 she studies direction at the film school and collective Filmarche in Berlin.

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Director Statement

With 'Aberration' I wish to bring attention to the growing, world wide phenomenon of the Hikikomori (Japanese for 'withdrawn'), that consists of young people retrieving to a mostly digital existence in self-chosen confinement, fleeing from society's pressures. Estimates suggest that half a million youths in Japan alone have become social recluses, as well as more than half a million middle-aged individuals. Outside of its origin country this troubling social development is virtually unknown. But the Hikikomori are a growing, world wide phenomenon. The current pandemic will likely accelerate their numbers and this film aims to make them more known to the general public, stressing that isolation has been a pandemic long before Covid-19.