Petals
"Petals" is my college senior short film produced at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. After nearly two years of work I'm very excited to finally share my final film! The story focuses on an existential crisis from the perspective of a small flower. Exploring themes of love, loss, and growth.
“Petals” is a film dedicated to my mom. When I was a kid my mom was always there for me. She taught me never to be afraid, to show compassion to others, and never stop working towards the things you love. She was the most influential person in my life and inspired me greatly when working on this project. However, when I was a young teenager my mom got very sick. When she passed my whole world changed, it spiraled into a state of unexplainable grief, depression and isolation. I didn’t know what to do and just felt helpless in the face of whatever was to come next in my life. But even in my darkest moments I remember every ounce of unconditional love my mom gave me.
In my film the nameless, little white flower endures a similar experience. The little flower lives happily with the yellow flower until one day an unknown force separates the two forever. Overwhelmed with grief the little white flower wilts down and stays seemingly frozen in time until a new element enters their life. I wanted to create a character that I could push all of what I was feeling into in the hopes of expressing my own grief. I wanted to showcase as much emotion as possible, through moments of happiness, sadness, fear, uncertainty, and growth.
This film was incredibly challenging and emotionally taxing for me to make. It was a frightening journey and is the most vulnerable I have ever dared to be with my art. Creating this film truly helped me express myself and my feelings during this incredibly difficult chapter in my life. "Petals" reminded me of all the good memories I had with my mom and encouraged me to confront the bad.
Here are some early pre-production turnarounds and drawings of my flower characters and environment.
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