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Poster for Floating Islands

Floating Islands

2013 · 3 min

A brief, somber hand-drawn meditation that drifts like the open water it depicts, leaving a quiet ache.

Overview
Millions of people abandon their countries each year in search of a better life, from Africa to Europe, the Caribbean to the United States, North to South Korea. In transit their status and human rights become negligible as they become illegal immigrants. What motivates them is usually universal; poverty, war, fear. They travel by foot, hide inside cars, are shipped in trucks and buses, and many travel by boat. In our globalised world the boundaries are open for trade but closed for immigration, their numbers are reported aligned with political motivations, the complexity of the individual story and its outcome, whether dead or alive, is skimmed over as the next news piece is ranked precedence. Based on quotes and testimonials, this hand drawn animation focuses on what happens while floating in the no man's land of open waters.

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • immigration
    • survival
    • isolation
    • politics
    • death
    Places
    • sea
    Era
    contemporary
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    • animated
    • true story
    Content intensity
    • Gore none
    • Language none
    • Violence mild
    • Sex none
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action1
    Horror2
    Humour0
    Realism7
    Romance0
    Tension5
    Darkness7
    Complexity6
    Emotional weight8

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    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Directed by
    Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
    Written by
    Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
    Starring
    Argentina Gómez, Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat, Namyoung An, Deniz Donmez, Coleman Guyon
    Runtime
    3 min

    TMDBIMDb