Les Lèvres Gercées
2018 · 5m · France
Directed by Fabien Corre, Kelsi Phung
Genres: animation, coming-of-age, drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
In a kitchen, a mother and a child struggle to establish dialogue; as adolescence approaches, questions about the child's gender identity collide with the indifference that prevails at home. A Gobelins student short made to allow trans and non-binary children and adults to recognize themselves and feel represented.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A mission statement masquerading as cinema—well-intentioned representation that plays it safe enough to feel almost didactic, which is precisely what keeps this from being the subversive piece it could've been about a kid refusing to be read.
The restraint here is deliberate and classically European; Corre and Phung situate themselves in a lineage of Gobelins pedagogical animation, using negative space and muted palette to honor both the form and the vulnerability of their subject matter.
The decision to let silence and stillness do the emotional work—especially in that kitchen where nothing is said but everything is felt—transforms what could've been an after-school-special premise into something that actually breathes and lets the child exist without explanation.
Reviews
With natural performances and realistic dialogue, this moving short shines a light on how a lack of understanding and acceptance between a parent and their LGBTQ child can have devastating consequences.