Private Project

DEMO DAY

To escape the complicated grief of her mother’s death, 17-year-old Renella Mendoza takes a job recruiting slum teenagers for a research study, then risks their fragile trust by sabotaging the study to prevent her boss, a millionaire financier, from trafficking the teens for sex.

DEMO DAY is Part 1 of sci-fi arthouse animation series "The Great Tit is a Bird," which follows Black and Brown feminine and trans-feminine people around the world, the losses they survive, and the ways they shape our high-tech era even as they are pushed to the margins.

  • Ar Ducao
    Director
  • Ar Ducao
    Writer
  • Paula Hung
    Writer
  • DuKode Studio
    Producer
  • Bryné Hadnott
    Producer
  • Chris Willard
    Producer
  • Paula Hung
    Key Cast
  • Mercy Oladipo
    Key Cast
  • Kate Mytty
    Key Cast
  • Alexander Wright III
    Key Cast
  • Ar Ducao
    Key Cast
  • Chris Willard
    Key Cast
  • Tyrone Bryant
    Key Cast
  • David Briggs
    Key Cast
  • Ar Ducao
    Story
  • Susan Osiche
    Story
  • Paula Hung
    Story
  • Ar Ducao
    Animation
  • La'Tonia Mertica
    Animation
  • Bryné Hadnott
    Animation
  • Shelby Lee
    Animation
  • Latasha Morris
    Illustration
  • Brian Li
    Illustration
  • Paula Hung
    Illustration
  • Ar Ducao
    Software Code
  • Joseph Beer
    Software Code
  • Jordi Frank
    Software Code
  • Kamilla Ismailova
    Additional Animators
  • Jovanny Alaniz
    Additional Animators
  • Giulio Gnash
    Additional Animators
  • Junshen Gao
    Additional Animators
  • Xinyi Liu
    Additional Animators
  • Lakshmi Segura
    Additional Animators
  • Darren Cole
    Sound
  • Amelie Pollack
    Sound
  • Kate Mytty
    Sound
  • Ar Ducao
    Sound
  • Paula Hung
    Sound
  • Francheska Njanja
    Story Consultant
  • Natalie Martinez
    Additional Graphics
  • Abigayel Moneldelus
    Additional Graphics
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    DEMO DAY
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Drama, Animation, LGBTQ+, BIPOC
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada, Kenya, United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Ar Ducao

Ar Ducao (they / zey pronouns) is an artist, engineer, organizer and educator who specializes in working with underrepresented and incarcerated STEAM (science, tech, art, engineering and math) learners. Through their firm DuKode Studio, they created the animation series "The Great Tit is a Bird." The films' technology themes are based on Ducao's work co-developing Multimer, a system that uses EEG (brainwave) and ECG (heart rate) data to analyze the experience of participants moving through cities, towns, and buildings. Their work has been honored with the SXSW Community Service Award.

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Director Statement

This first full film from "The Great Tit is a Bird" probes issues its creators have experienced firsthand, including techno-colonization, research misconduct in the Global South, and threats to bodily autonomy. I'm grateful to examine such important issues with such a wonderful collaborators of color from the disability, LGBTQ+, low-income, immigrant, veteran, and formerly incarcerated communities.