Short of the Week

Play
Drama Thomas Leung

Living in the Dark

Often we can't appreciate something so close to us until it's taken from us—such is the case in this film when as a young boy, Thomas, temporarily loses his sight.

Play
Drama Thomas Leung

Living in the Dark

Often we can't appreciate something so close to us until it's taken from us—such is the case in this film when as a young boy, Thomas, temporarily loses his sight.
Next Previous

Living in the Dark

Drama about Transformation in Animation
Directed By Thomas Leung
Produced By Swinburne University of Technology
Made In USA

A dreamy story about the cherished gift of sight. Filmmaker Thomas reaches to the depths of his own childhood and pulls out this warming anecdote of a time when an eye wound threatened his lifelong ability to see. Unappreciative of his sight at the time, he soon became completely dependent on others to accomplish simple tasks such as finding the toilet. His father, blinded from a childhood accident, serves as a warning for what could lie ahead- —a dark world without color, shape and definition. As Thomas’ wound miraculously heals, he learns to value all that he sees.

As a film about vision, the animation for Living in the Dark closely reflects its content. Thomas’ dreamlike animation style crafts a world perfect for childhood memories. As his vision grows worse, we see the world through his young distorted eyes. Thomas’ careful combination of digital hand-drawn animation and 3D compositing brings incredible warmth and fluidity to a typically rigid technology. Watch the brief YouTube video of how he put it all together.

Thomas Leung, born in Hong Kong and schooled in Australia, created Living in the Dark as a school project at Swinburne. Both Living in the Dark and Sukki’s Story (his second film, not online… yet), have seen some heavy action on the international festival circuits. Check out his YouTube Channel for updates.

vimeo