A Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Lesbian
CARMELA MARIE MURPHY + A J DUBLER | USA | 2024 | 8 MIN | ENGLISH EST
CARMELA MARIE MURPHY + A J DUBLER | USA | 2024 | 8 MIN | ENGLISH EST
Synopsis
After a mysterious girl shows up Gray's doorstep holding the corpse of a bird that’s just cracked her window, an impromptu bird funeral changes the way she views herself and her lesbian identity.
Trailer
Filmmaker Bio
Carmela Murphy is a filmmaker and artist specializing in stop motion animation and screenwriting. She received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Spring 2024. She adores telling narrative and fantastical stories that explore the weird and the wonderful.
Director's Statement
"A Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Lesbian" is our debut short film. The ultimate message of the film is the rejection of the desire for male validation. For many women and femme people, male desire and attention acts as a social currency. Many women rely on this desire for validation as well as self and social worth. Realizing one's lesbian identity forces one to acknowledge and process this. Coming out often means a rejection and mourning of this previous life. When a bird hits a window, it is generally a male bird seeing his reflection and believing it is a rival attempting to usurp his territory or his women. He flies into the window to destroy his rival. In this case, his rival is femme queerness. In a male-dominated heteronormative world, it is the death of the bird that acts as the catalyst to the film. We structure the film into three parts. Act one is the rejection of the desire for male attention. Act two is the intimacy and intensity of one's first lesbian relationship. Act three is acceptance. Our film uses humor intertwined with vulnerability to tell a unique story of love and grief for oneself.
Filmmaker Bio
AJ Dubler is a stop motion animator, 2D animator, and storyboard artist. They have experience working on stop motion productions and creating their own films. AJ is the recipient of the Presidential Scholarship at SAIC and graduated with distinction in Fall 2023.
Director's Statement
"A Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Lesbian" is our debut short film. The ultimate message of the film is the rejection of the desire for male validation. For many women and femme people, male desire and attention acts as a social currency. Many women rely on this desire for validation as well as self and social worth. Realizing one's lesbian identity forces one to acknowledge and process this. Coming out often means a rejection and mourning of this previous life. When a bird hits a window, it is generally a male bird seeing his reflection and believing it is a rival attempting to usurp his territory or his women. He flies into the window to destroy his rival. In this case, his rival is femme queerness. In a male-dominated heteronormative world, it is the death of the bird that acts as the catalyst to the film. We structure the film into three parts. Act one is the rejection of the desire for male attention. Act two is the intimacy and intensity of one's first lesbian relationship. Act three is acceptance. Our film uses humor intertwined with vulnerability to tell a unique story of love and grief for oneself.
Producer
Carleka Lurohy, A J Dubler
Writer
Carleka Lurohy, A J Dubler
Cast
- jordan Gantos
- Cecile Lopez
- Timmothy Sullivan
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