Border Hopper
2024 · 14m · USA
Directed by Nico Casavecchia
Genres: animation, comedy, drama, horror
Tones: absurdist, surreal, whimsical
When a Latinx filmmaker is offered a dream job directing a Super Bowl commercial abroad, she discovers she can't leave the country due to her green card process. She finds a supernatural, video-game-like way to navigate the U.S. immigration system, but the magical solution brings unexpected consequences.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Immigration bureaucracy as a Candy-Crush video-game level structure — that's a high-concept I haven't seen done, and if the animation matches the swagger of the pitch it's a real one. Could also be way too cute.
Casavecchia translates immigration bureaucracy into Candy Crush-vernacular, an inventive gesture that earns Boots Riley-adjacent comparisons. Whether the metaphor sustains for 14 minutes is the question.
14:09 live-action/animation hybrid styling US immigration as a Candy Crush video game — Eloi Moli AEC shooting plus a real BRUT Films production sheet means the genre-stitch was resourced properly. Concept-driven shorts about bureaucracy live or die on whether the comedy stays specific; gameplay-as-paperwork is at least a fresh visual hook.
Reviews
Gabriela Ortega and Santiago Reyes McAllister bring sharpness to the screenplay without ever being overly dramatic. The animation combined with live-action creates an unforgettable viewing experience.
Audiences appreciate that we didn't approach the subject with solemnity but instead pushed into a breathless, psychedelic ride that mixes humor and horror.
Festivals
- Sundance Film Festival 2024
- Aspen Shortsfest 2024
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024