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“It was astonishing to me.” So says Portland-based filmmaker Laura Di Trapani about using emails to communicate with someone from an entirely different cultural background—and on the other side of the world—in 1999. That someone was Sujeet Bhatt, who was located in India while Di Trapani was in America.
Di Trapani used her written conversations with Bhatt as the inspirational backbone for her new short film, Exquisite Corpse. It’s a project 20 years in the making that combines hand-drawn animation, time lapses, live-action photography, shadow puppet techniques, and more as it unfolds over its 15 minutes. Di Trapani will show Exquisite Corpse and other short films during a filmmaker presentation at Cinema 21 on Saturday, March 9, at 4 pm.
The limitations and possibilities of email through her messages with Bhatt fascinated Di Trapani enough to want to explore them artistically. She was curious about how emails provided no verbal cues, body language, or other in-person offerings, while at the same time they allowed for rich conversations ranging from discussing Jane Austen to the differences between Hindu and Christian beliefs.
Di Trapani says she wanted to explore such communication methods through Exquisite Corpse because she wanted to express, in her words, “what was being said [written] and the numerous possible interpretations that can be gleaned from it.”
Bhatt and Di Trapani both lend their own voices to Exquisite Corpse, exchanging passages of emails back and forth as Di Trapani fills the screen with vibrant images. The displays favor the metaphorical over the literal as the passages play out. Floating butterflies, gliding star patterns, and falling pears are just some of the hypnotic images used by Di Trapani.
Another key Portland collaborator on Exquisite Corpse was Jamie Haggerty, who provides enchanting music and sound design for the film. His work is almost a third voice in the short as it beautifully plays out with Di Trapani and Bhatt’s deep conversations. Haggerty is no stranger to helping animated projects come to life, having previously worked on Joan C. Gratz’s Oscar-winning short Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (1992) and many other films.
The conversations in Exquisite Corpse eventually transition to being more on the romantic side. Despite the characters being many miles apart and only communicating through email, their bond is felt by the audience. In some ways, Exquisite Corpse feels like animation equal to current Best Picture Oscar nominee Past Lives in how it showcases the effects of distance on relationships.
Di Trapani says her goal in connecting with audiences with Exquisite Corpse is to “illustrate and explore the nature of our thoughts and ideas.”
“I’ve realized that one cannot overestimate the power of visual media and metaphor to influence how we perceive the world around us and even define how we see ourselves, both as individuals and as a cultural entity,” she says.
Exquisite Corpse is just the latest of many audio-visual projects from Di Trapani. She has been animating since 1983, when she assisted on music videos being made for MTV. Di Trapani won an Emmy for work on Sesame Street and has been a featured filmmaker at the Museum of Modern Art. She currently teaches topics like visual storytelling, 2D animation, and animation history at Portland State University.
As for where animation is going in the future? Di Trapani is worried about the use of artificial intelligence, which has been a major topic in entertainment corners as of late.
“The impact it will have on the filmmaking industry is scary. It’s already put many people out of work,” she says, despite also admitting that “artistically, AI and its ability to create hyperreal environments is very exciting.”
“The real power of animation is in its power to elucidate concepts and explore ideas in ways that a more straightforward or literal approach cannot do,” Di Trapani adds. Her exploration of communication through email with Exquisite Corpse presents a fine example of this power. One that she looks forward to sharing with audiences on March 9.
Dennis Kuklok, a cartoonist and Di Trapani’s partner (who did some of the live-action photography and title work on the film), will also attend the Cinema 21 presentation. Tickets are available at cinema21.com.