Ivan Kander
Beautiful and emotive, Sai Selvarjan’s Sugarless Tea is a stylistic animated short that is as much an aesthetic treat as it is a narrative one. Through the use of time-lapse watercolor paintings created by his wife, Amanda, Selvarjan crafts a literal cinematic canvas that evokes illustrated travelogues. The result is a harmonious experience, taking viewers on a journey from India to New York City in a way that is simple, yet gorgeous. Each painting is stunning to view, and thus, there’s a visceral thrill to see the artwork come to life step by step.
But, beyond the amazing visuals, the backbone of Sugarless Tea is an incredible tale of two brothers separated by both circumstance and geography. It’s told second hand to an unnamed traveler (the film is narrated by comic Hari Kondabolu), and across the film’s runtime, we are treated to a story about the invisible ties that bind family together. It’s a simple concept to be sure, but incredibly well-told—something that feels culturally exotic, yet also universal in theme. Likewise, it’s touching without ever feeling mushy.
In an interview with the Animation World Network, Selvarajan states: “In 2005 I took a trip to India and saw the country through the eyes of an adult for the first time. Little moments from my travel journal came together in this film, which in some ways personally represents being a part of two places, even if the story is not autobiographical.”
In an effort to convey memory and recollection as if they were “pages of a childhood storybook,” Selvarajan uses his wife’s paintings to great effect. In order to capture her artistic process, he rigged a camera with a wireless trigger that she could control as she painted. These images were then turned into the resulting film via his production company, Lucky Post.
Selvarajan is clearly an impressive talent who can work in a variety of disciplines. His title sequence for Chasing Shakespeare won the audience award for excellence in title design at 2013’s SXSW, and his creative eye is behind numerous other cinematic projects from corporate promotions to other narrative short films.