Shaun doesn’t fit in. It’s not that he wants to be alone but, somehow, he always feels separate and isolated from the confident, happy world around him. Whilst waiting for his parents in a busy pub, Shaun struggles valiantly to join in with the admirably happy people in the crowd, but the more he tries, the more he goes awry. As everything in the pub goes from bad to worse, Shaun finds himself confronted by the painful memories that made him who he is. His feelings, memories, and desires overwhelm him and by the end of the evening he is ready to explode…

*Facing It* is a short narrative film about anxiety, repression, and how we are made of the different relationships we have experienced throughout our lives. Sam Gainsborough and his creative team wanted to create a unique visual language that felt like something they hadn’t seen before. It was important from the first day of production that the visual technique would be the only way to tell this particular story. Using a combination of live-action, pixilation, and stop-motion animation, the team spent two years creating this bizarre little film. It was a leap into the unknown for everyone involved, creating a production process which was at times stressful but always exciting.

Links: https://vimeo.com/290238733, https://vimeo.com/260072282, https://vimeo.com/samgainsborough

Writer and director: Sam Gainsborough
Producer: Jimmy Campbell Smith
Co-Writer: Louisa Wood
Cinematographer: Bruno Grilo
Production designer: Fiona Guest
Editor: Mdhamiri a Nkemi
Composer: Jack Newton
Sound designer: Adam Woodhams
Compositing producer: Joe Morris
Colourist: Vlad Barin
Production manager: Garry Frost

Sam Gainsborough (UK) began his career as a screenwriter, determined to tell unique stories with his particular sense of humor. He soon became fascinated with a variation of animation techniques, through which he could create his bizarre and wonderful worlds. Sam’s work mixes physical animation with digital techniques to create a tactile and hand-made look. He loves physical textures, frame-by-frame handcrafted animation and strives to create visuals that feel like something we’ve never seen before. Aesthetically, Sam is obsessed by fingerprints, rough textures, and wet paint, however the most important thing for him is that his stories communicate a clear message with humor and pathos. Sam has created a number of mixed media music videos and commercials, and his recent short film *Facing It* has picked up a number of animation awards all over the world.