Elsie

Animated short film inspired by a mission trip that I took to the islands of Vanuatu and the beautiful people that I met there. The film tells a story of an orphan named Elsie who, for her entire life, has known nothing outside of her village on the island. She decides to go on an adventure and visit a large, modern city in search of something new. Filled with hope, imagination and, perhaps, illusions of grandeur, she sets off. Quickly she discovers that the new world that she had imagined was not all that she dreamt it would be. Soon, she gains a newfound appreciation for her home, and the simple pleasures of life that it provides. "Elsie" confronts a central issue that modern society faces - the idealized world presented on social media that often leads us into jealous comparison and envy. As Elsie learns, true joy is found in gratefulness.