Space Friend

A lonely alien discovers incoming satellite signals while traversing deep space.

  • Cristina Gonçalves
    Director
    Hermit, Beetlebrain
  • Cristina Gonçalves
    Writer
    Hermit, Beetlebrain
  • Cristina Gonçalves
    Editor
    Hermit, Beetlebrain
  • Alexander Holland
    Digital Effects Artist
  • Cristina Gonçalves
    Puppeteer
    Hermit, Beetlebrain
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Music Video, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Melancholia, Post-Apocalyptic, Space Opera, Musical, Animation, Practical Effects, Silent, Apocalyptic
  • Runtime:
    1 minute 56 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 8, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    40 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Cristina Gonçalves

Cristina Gonçalves (they/she/he) is a multidisciplinary artist dedicated to all things queer and bizarre. As a non-binary artist who grew up in a loud and loving immigrant household, Cristina prioritizes intersectional equity and accessibility in art and in life. Since moving to Tkaronto (Toronto), Cristina has been recognized for their original short film "Hermit" which won "Best Experimental Short" at the Toronto Short Film Festival. Lately, they've been manifesting creative energies into puppets, polymer clay sculptures, and other practical FX creatures. In isolation, Cristina's draw to whimsical, sentimental, and horrific storytelling is explored in the amicable company of clay creatures.

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Director Statement

When crafting the puppet in "Space Friend" I was unknowingly creating a bit of a self-portrait. The intense desire to connect with others, the fear of intimacy, and the cyclic nature of days spent in isolation were all projected onto my alien friend. I found that the puppet's fixed expression helped me to explore the ambivalence of neutrality and stasis. The inner dialogue of grief, gratitude, and fear is conveyable even without ever creasing the brow. Personally, "Space Friend" speaks to a kind of contradictory agoraphobia: to feel lonely in a one-person spacecraft but to also feel comforted by the stable reliability of aloneness.