Sally Lomidze

“the quarantine muse”

stop-motion animation

“the quarantine muse”

Genre: Stop-Motion Animation Romance

Year: 2021

About: In this stop-motion animation, a furry stuck-at-home New Yorker makes a bold socially distanced gesture for a front-line nurse next door.

Created by: Sally Lomidze
Sound Design by: Michael Zhonga

Awards:
WINNER - Arrow International Film Festival - Best COVID-19 Film - 2022
HONORABLE MENTION - GLIFF - Golden Lemur - Best Animation - 2021
HONORABLE MENTION - ISAFF - Best COVID Film - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - American Documentary And Animation Film Festival - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Animotion Film Festival - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - deadCenter Film Festival - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - New York City Independent Film Festival - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - New York Lift-Off Film Festival - 2021
OFFICIAL SELECTION - RiverRun International Film Festival - 2021

Director’s Statement

"The Quarantine Muse" is a reflection of my quarantine experience in NYC. While at first our instinct was to take care of ourselves, which is completely understandable, pretty soon it became more and more apparent how interconnected we all are and what really matters in life - our loved ones. We are nothing without one another. Throughout quarantine I've seen neighborhoods and communities come together like never before.
This is my first stop-motion animation: I sculpt for fun, but this was a big challenge for me. I made everything from scratch, from clay figurines and poster board buildings to tiny clothes and lighting fixtures. Visually, I used a cool color palette with low-key lighting in the beginning to portray a rather depressing lockdown scene we're all too familiar with, and then transitioned to high-key lighting with a warm and vibrant palette in the finale to accentuate everyone coming together.
I hope that this stop-motion animated short film reinforces the positive message that we are in this together and as long as we show each other love and support, we will come out of this stronger.