Private Project

In Living Color

How much of the human experience is tucked away in our memories?

Beyond the grasp of time itself, there is a theater. Manned by a lonesome spirit, the theater welcomes passed souls, allowing them to rewatch their own memories for eternity. The spirit visits the theater's attendees regularly to check in on them, and to learn more about humans in the process. In Living Color is an experimental film that combines simple animation with archival footage to establish characters through their memories and the way they interact with their world.

  • Olivia Zindren
    Director
  • Olivia Zindren
    Writer
  • Olivia Zindren
    Producer
  • Kelly Anderson
    Key Cast
    "Spirit"
  • Judy Larmouth
    Key Cast
    "Ruth"
  • Lilly Tardie
    Key Cast
    "Maggie"
  • Kelly Anderson
    Key Cast
    "Matthew"
  • Ellory Doyle
    Background Artist
  • Olivia Zindren
    Animatior
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Indie
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 47 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Smith College
Director Biography - Olivia Zindren

Olivia Zindren is a current Sophomore at Smith College, studying Film and American Studies. This is her third short film and first animated work. Her primary mode of storytelling is through comics and illustration and she has self-published several short comics. Most of her creative work circulates around folk-tales, name-based identity, and death.

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Director Statement

Ever since I was in a bad car accident at 15, I'd had a fascination with the afterlife. Being raised without religion, yet still absorbing Christian ideas of the afterlife through American popular culture, I've always been placed in a strange position between neutrality and spirituality. This applies to my work as I often use it as a sort of "testing ground" for various theories of life after death.

I aimed to create a dream-like realm of the afterlife in this piece. While I, the creator, wanted to remain vague and neutral in my approach to the concept, I wanted to explore characters that may disagree with me. I find the afterlife, and our imaginings of it, to be a rather personal experience. I wanted to convey that through each character's different approach and interpretation of the generally neutral, "spirit" figure.

The heart of this piece is about reflections on life and memory. It's an exploration of what we can learn from the living and the passed. If we could watch our own life over and over again, how would we begin to interpret it in hindsight? What pieces of life hold the most value to us now, and what could hold the most value to us after we have left?