Ode to a Sunrise

"Ode to a Sunrise" was inspired by my desire to break free from the stress and routine of daily life. Like the protagonist, I find myself enthralled by nature, music, and art. I too shy away from traditional expectations. The "mother" in this story was inspired by my inner conscience - urging me to conform to societal standards. I thought it would be interesting to explore this complex relationship through a mother and her daughter. Additionally, as the granddaughter of immigrants myself I believe this storyline effectively mirrors the relationship between many immigrant parents and their children; (hence the inclusion of dialogue in Spanish, my mom's native language). As a poet, I chose to weave lines of poetry into the "daughters'" thoughts in order to paint her character as an embodiment of art and light - searching for release. Many of the decisions I made in this film, such as only including music when the daughter is outside, are meant to highlight the sharp line between play (outside) and restriction/order (inside). Yet, by the end of the short I wanted to show how that line could blend. (Fun fact: every 'sunrise' scene in this film was shot at sunrise, which meant waking up extremely early for a week straight). I hope you enjoy this work!