On The Cusp, Longlist - Animation

The Ghastly Fowl

Shruti Veeramachineni

Once upon a story

It is often hard to start conversations about planetary destruction, the Amazon, climate change, Australia and the Arctic on fire, global swine and bird flu pandemics and the extinction of so many species. The fact is, we are all complicit, simply because we have been born into a time of consumerism, avarice and blind searching. And the only way we are going to make it through this terrifying time as a species is if we work together in harmony with the planet rather than in opposition to it. The Ghastly Fowl takes a look at where we are now and where we could go from here, focusing on responsibility rather than blame. A stark, beautifully animated short story that peels away the layers of the human psyche in a countdown towards the end, which could also be the beginning. The number 9 to 0 symbolise species of the planet, the countdown to break free of the shackles that they have created for themselves and find redemption.