Sugar Skull fundraising video

Hi, I'm Melanie Case and this is my project, Sugar Skull.

Our antiheroine is Alma, a Mexican-American lesbian and fine artist in her 20's. Alma lives at home with her mom. Her father has recently died. She discovers that her Dad's colorful past may result in some new family relations she has never met before.

When she successfully finds her first half-sister, Jasmine, 30's, she discovers that Jasmine is also a lesbian and an artist. Alma is reassured in this discovery because suddenly a bit of her topsy-turvy life makes more sense— genetics have played a part in making her who she is.

The reason I wanted to write this series is so people could get to know a queer Latina who has depth and character. She is just like anyone else in dealing with her personal and family life, which currently leaves a lot to be desired. The inspiration for this character was the antiheroine Dawn Weiner from Todd Solondz's movie Welcome to the Dollhouse. Similarly, the character Napoleon Dynamite represents a hero who you wouldn't expect to see as the protagonist of a TV series or film. These antiheroes and antiheroines speak to my heart because they are outsiders and I identify with them.

I identify strongly with the concept of not fitting in and having to find a healthier way to channel that pervasive feeling of being an outsider or somehow "different" from other people. As a queer woman and artist, I relate to the characters who don't come from perfect, cookie-cutter families. I identify most with characters who are trying to find and express themselves. I believe in the idea of something I call generational baggage which is basically the manifestation of how each generation passes down the psychological burdens of the generation before them. This emotional baggage creates a shared family neuroses and family history that directly influences each individual's pesonality and cannot be separated from the individual. It isn't until the generational baggage is acknowledged and addressed that any healing can begin. Alma is actively embarking on this journey of healing.

Live Action/Animation hybrid

Central to the pilot is the character of Skelly, who is Alma's Shadow, id, ego, superego, best friend and superhero all rolled into one. This animated character will bring to life the inner thoughts and secret yearnings/doubts/fears/joys of Alma.

I have not seen animation used in a pilot in this manner and I believe it will be an original point of view for the audience. Inspired by my love of fine art, when I saw Karla Lozano's artwork, it spoke to me. I thought, "These paintings look like they could come alive." The vibrancy of the colors and the duality in her work spoke right to my core issues as an artist in my own medium. I saw it as an opportunity to combine a recent development in my life, a curiosity about animation and motion graphics which I was exposed to in my work in advertising at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners.

As an interactive producer our work with animation is mostly limited to Flash animation, but it was during a class I took in After Effects at bavc (Bay Area Video Coalition) that my eyes were opened to the possibilities available in animation. The artfulness and simplicity of many of these films, such as Preguntas Hermosas by Süperfad, were both visually arresting and emotionally engaging. http://motionographer.com/2010/06/14/superfad-p...

Influences
On the representational side of the scale, I am influenced by the work of of Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness), Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, American Beauty), Kenneth Lonnergan (You Can Count on Me) and Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding). These filmmakers/creators all share that they examine the family dynamic and are unafraid to show the more perverse, awkward, and intimate side of these relationships.

On the more presentational side of the scale, I am influenced by the creativity, humor and visuals of directors like The Cohen Brothers (The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo), Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Romeo & Juliet), Marc Caro & Jean Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children), Alexander Payne (Election, specifically) and the humor of Monty Python! I have a wild sensibility and enjoy the flashy, campy visuals of directors like Luhrmann and the creative camera angles and unique perspectives of some of the French directors.

The Impact
I hope that this story will impact anyone who feels like an outsider and who is searching for his/herself. I don't believe Alma's story will be exclusive to the straight community. I think that her sexuality is just another aspect of who she is. However, I would love for this work to touch the LGBT and hispanic communities— to represent LGBT Latinas who are an underrepresented group in the media.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• lesbian
• family dramedy

[MyNapoleonDynamite]

sweet!!