Squirrel Island

Squirrel Island (dir. Astrid Goldsmith, UK 2016, 21:11)

Squirrel Island is an award-winning stop-motion animated film, made by Astrid in her garage in Folkestone over the course of eight years.

Screen shot 2015-09-20 at 09.13.52

A 20-minute sci fi action thriller about squirrel apartheid, Squirrel Island follows a lone renegade grey squirrel called Dot, who is trapped on a hostile and mysterious red squirrel island. Thrown together with an unlikely partner, Dot and her new friend Mr Acorn uncover a horrifying secret red squirrel plot…can Dot and Mr Acorn survive Squirrel Island?

A puppet stop-motion film that was eight years in the making, Squirrel Island was shot on 16mm in a garage in Folkestone, using a 1969 Bolex film camera. Inspired by the complex issues surrounding invasive species and the controversial policies implemented to protect native wildlife in Britain, Squirrel Island is a sideways look at the choices we make between good and bad animals.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for post-production, the film was completed in 2016.

Awards

Best Film, Jury des enfants – Festival Cinema Jeune Public, Lausanne

Best Film, Children’s Jury – Soria International Film Festival

Achievement in Short Filmmaking – Portland Film Festival

In competition

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, 2017

London Short Film Festival, 2017

Tampere Film Festival, 2017

Warsaw Film Festival, 2016

Foyle Film Festival, 2016

Aesthetica Short Film Festival, 2017

Savannah Film Festival, 2016

Norwegian Short Film Festival, 2017

Portland Film Festival, 2016

Tacoma Film Festival, 2016

Newport Beach Film Festival, 2017

Sarasota Film Festival, 2017

Beijing International Short Film Festival, 2017

Vilnius International Film Festival, 2017

Vilnius International Short Film Festival, 2018

Underexposed Film Festival, 2017

Fest Anca, 2017

Athens Animfest, 2017

Lago Film Festival, 2017

Festival de Cine de Madrid, 2017

Special Selection Screenings

Brest Short Film Festival, Opening Screening, 2017

La Guarimba Film Festival, UNICEF touring programme, 2017

LCC special selection from BISFF, 2017

You can follow the film’s news and progress on Twitter @SquirrelFilm and on Facebook

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