Superstitious

Superstitious tells a story about a clumsy and anxious fair named Ailbhe who owns a magic shop and does her best to avoid bad luck until one day an adorable black cat named Jinx stumbles into her store. Chaos ensues as Ailbhe gets progressively more stressed with every step Jinx takes. Will Ailbhe be able to overcome her fears to save them both before it's too late?

  • Melany Andrea Di Pietro Cecere
    Director
  • Carolina Rapp
    Director
  • Angie Benitez-Garcia
    Co-Lighting Lead
  • Alexa Bowen
    Technical Lead
  • Kayla Davis
    CFX Groom Specialist - Ailbhe
  • Matthew DiVietro
    Co-Texturing/Surfacing Lead
  • Ronit Liberman
    Character Rigging Lead - Jinx
  • Estephany Padilla
    Character Designer - Ailbhe
  • Chi Pham
    Production Manager
  • Jordyn Renneman
    Character Rigging Lead - Ailbhe
  • Linda Rosa
    3D Character Artist - Jinx
  • Dongqing (Sunny) Zheng
    Art Director
  • Pierce Martin
    Composer
  • Joshua Lee Flowers
    Composer
  • Callie Wills
    Sound Designer
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Adventure, Family-Friendly, Fantasy, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Central Florida
Director Biography - Melany Andrea Di Pietro Cecere, Carolina Rapp

Melany and Carolina are the co-directors, amongst other roles, for the short film Superstitious. As first-time filmmakers, both women put a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and joy into creating this film with their team. They enjoy the creative possibilities of animation and the tech behind it, hoping to continue to work with the power of storytelling to write and create meaningful stories in their professional careers. They are also recent graduates of the BFA Emerging Media program at the University of Central Florida.

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Director Statement

As part of the writing team for the film, we wanted to write a story that discussed an important topic that the whole team could relate to. Being young Latinas who have dealt with our fair share of overwhelming anxiety, we wanted to depict a story where the main character not only felt that same emotion but also faced it head-on victoriously. The main character became a representation of how we often feel, with the anxious and usually irrational fears that come with our lives. But most importantly, this film became about how she was able to overcome this anxiety, by facing it head-on, becoming an inspiration.