Disabled artist selected for international animation festival

Tue,18 January 2022
News Participation

A Disabled artist has had her animated short film selected for a international animation festival.

Jemima Hughes wrote and directed Unbound, a colourful stop motion animation inspired by Kandinsky’s circle paintings, about her experience as a wheelchair user. Broadcast on BBC4 in December as part of an hour-long programme of animated shorts, it has now been selected for the Paris International Animation Festival which opens on 19 January.

Jemima is a Disabled and deaf filmmaker and animator who speaks with an electronic communication aid and is keen to see the voices of Disabled people better represented in the media.

Unbound is a lively and colourful three-minute abstract animation which presents Jemima’s feelings about being perceived as “wheelchair bound” and her positive experience of physically exciting activities such as dancing and zip wiring. It combines cut out animation in hand-painted watercolour paper with digital effects, using colours, shapes and movement inspired by Kandinsky’s painting. The voiceover, spoken on Jemima’s communication aid and subtitled, describes her experiences and feelings, and jazz-inspired music composed for the film reflects the motion and excitement of the activities.

Watch the film here.