Umbilical

China United States
2019
Documentary Animation
7 min.

 

Director | Danski Tang
Script | Danski Tang
Animator | Danski Tang
Editing | Danski Tang
Sound | Danski Tang
Composer | Sean Hayward
Producer | Danski Tang

 

An animated documentary exploring how my mother’s abusive relationship with my father shaped my own experiences in a boarding school as a child in China. The societal pressures on my mother to hide her abuse and her desire to protect me ultimately created a situation where I was subjected to the same societal pressures. Our shared desires for intimacy, safety, and normalcy have been constantly at odds with the realities that surround us. Through a conversation as adults, my mother and I learn to understand each other and support one another.