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best friend

A bunny makes a disturbing discovery in his home which he takes as an opportunity to create himself a friend.

As an aspiring surgeon and self-proclaimed artist, a very lonely bunny has been losing his sanity trapped alone in an isolated pink room yet is unaware and unbothered by his mental slippage. As he keeps himself busy with morbid crafts, he notices that a giant deceased fly has appeared underneath his couch. Rather than investigate the supernatural, he takes this as a chance to perform a Frankenstein-inspired surgery to fashion himself some company.

  • Sophie Caswell
    Director
  • Sophie Caswell
    Writer
  • Sophie Caswell
    Producer
  • Skylar Januszkiewicz
    Voice Actor
  • Skylar Januszkiewicz
    Music Production
  • Sophie Caswell
    Animator
  • Sophie Caswell
    Character and Set Design
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Stop-Motion Animation, Mixed-Media Animation, 2D Animation, Animated Short
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 25, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    30 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of North Carolina at Asheville
Director Biography - Sophie Caswell

Sophie Caswell is a mixed-media artist currently studying at UNC Asheville seeking a degree in New Media. She creates projects combining illustration, sculpture, printmaking, videography, and various forms of animation. With a focus on stop-motion animation, she creates her miniature sets almost completely out of recycled materials. Her first claymation animated short Grammatical Bathroom won Best In Category for Stop Motion Animation at UNC Asheville’s New Media Spring 2024 Student Exhibition, her second student exhibition at the university. She has also recently released her longest stop-motion animation in August of 2024: a three-minute claymation music video for Spartanburg punk band Mean Sweetie. As for non-digital media, her mixed-media artworks and illustrations have been featured at the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey and have been awarded a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

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Director Statement

This film was inspired by my fascination with artistic juxtaposition, specifically by merging contrasting creative ideas to produce unique emotions and aesthetics. Best Friend is the most raw example of the art I intend to create: a product of combining visual narratives from my vivid dreams and nightmares, critical and introspective looks into the unspoken sides of mental illness, and the beauty of the Gurokawa aesthetic, Japanese for “Creepy Cute”. By taking the viewer through an unsettling experience with pastel and gore, I intended on curating a beautifully grotesque emotional journey through the eyes of a personified blue bunny, mirrored also through mixed-media with the combination of both stop-motion and 2D animation.