Private Project

flè dè me

flè dè me is an experimental film about 4-year-old Bathschèba's retelling of their adoption story. Bathschèba explores initial fears of coming to America while also looking back at goofy moments of their childhood. Bathschèba explores dark themes of scary ghosts and frightening monsters to piece together the complexity of Bathschèba's childhood.

  • Bathscheba Duronvil
    Director
  • Bathscheba Duronvil
    Writer
  • Bathscheba Duronvil
    Producer
  • Bathscheba Duronvil
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 13, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    stop motion, digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Rochester Institute of Technology
Director Biography - Bathscheba Duronvil

Bathschèba Duronvil is a multidisciplinary artist who focuses on experimental animation using a
combination of stop-motion and traditional animation.

Born in Haiti and brought up in Minnesota, Bathschèba grew up with a rich love of visual storytelling.
Whether it was through childhood play, books, drawings, or movies, Bathschèba had a vivid imagination
and a love for creating art. This love of movies and drawing is reflected in Duronvil’s art style
and visual choices in their films. Bathschèba Duronvil is a second-year graduate student at
the School of Animation, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In flè dè me, I speak about my story. My life living in Haiti and how I came into this world having a strong sense of self. I had nature that loved me and a mother who adored me. I had all my sisters, my friends, my culture, and my food. I never asked for more. I never wanted more. Moving to the U.S. was terrifying. I came to this country scared and confused. I had lost my culture and my mother and swiftly had to adjust to this strange new country surrounded by these strange white faces. This film was an opportunity for me to explore my adoption story through visual storytelling and language.

When society thinks of adoption, images of adoptive parents taking in a poor young child may pop into one's head. One may hear of an adoption story and view it from the perspective of an adoption parent. But often what we don’t see are adoptees' feelings of displacement, shame, guilt, grief, and loss. Adoption is nuanced, and for adoptees, it can be painful. For me, it was painful. I lost everything I loved when I came to America, and the people around me seemed to be in jubilation over my loss. I created this film as a way to tell my adoption story and what it means to be Black and female in a transracial household. Grief, loss, and pain look different on a child, and I wanted to honor my story from the perspective of my child-self.