Thine Own Self | Animated Short Film by Evan Bode

Torn from their home by a hand in the sky, colorful spirits struggle against a tyrannical binary in this surreal, wordless mixed-media animation about the pursuit of authentic selfhood. Artist Statement: Through semi-abstract visuals in combination with original music, I hope to communicate resistance to hegemonic constructions of gender, expressing a desire for collective liberation from restrictive understandings of identity. This film was made in partial fulfillment of an MFA in Film in the Department of Transmedia, College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University, Spring 2021. Special thanks to Kara Herold, Soudabeh Moradian, and all of my peers at Syracuse for their support and encouragement. WINNER of the Gotham Institute's Student Short Film Showcase sponsored by JetBlue & Focus Features, 2021 Official Selection of Animafest Zagreb, Films for Children Competition, Croatia, 2022 Official Selection of Leeds International Film Festival, United Kingdom, 2022 Official Selection of Durban Film Festival's Isiphethu International Student Film Festival, South Africa 2022 Official Selection of 15th FOR RAINBOW Festival of Cinema & Culture of Sexual and Gender Diversity, Brazil 2021 Official Selection of Seattle Queer Film Festival, United States, 2021 Official Selection of OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival, United States, 2021 Official Selection of the 10th QUEER-Streifen Regensburg Film Festival, Germany, 2021 Official Selection of Prairie Pride Film Festival, United States, 2022 Official Selection of MicroActs 8 Artist Film Screening, United States, 2021 Official Selection of the Student Showcase at Syracuse International Film Festival, United States, 2021 Official Selection of Through the Student Lens Film Festival, United States, 2022 Official Selection of Bendigo Queer Film Festival, Australia, 2022 Official Selection of Out & Loud: Pune International Queer Film Festival, India, 2022 Nominee for Best Experimental Short at Short Encounters International Film Festival, Greece, 2021 Finalist for the 55th Humboldt International Film Fest, United States, 2022 #studentfilm #animation #genderbinary #experimental