Inspired by the 1932 paper by psychoanalyst Sándor Ferenczi, Confusion of Tongues takes us into the world of a woman suffering a sleepless night. Haunted by a recurring childhood memory and gripped by her fear of a window left open, she begins to recall a much deeper trauma.

Combining film with oil-painted animation Confusion of Tongues vividly conjures up the tragic confusion of desire which can be a devastating effect of child abuse.

‘Em Cooper translates one of the most important psychoanalytic papers ever written into an evocative and compelling visual montage. Capturing the complexities and subtleties of the traumatic, this short film tackles big ideas—and like a dream, synthesizes multiple ideas in a powerful visual vocabulary.’

– B. William Brennan, psychoanalyst, IFPE

Shortlisted for the 2012 British Animation Awards Best Student Film

Brooklyn International Film Festival, New York, 2011

Animax Skopje Fest, Macedonia, 2011

Freud Museum, London, 2013

Presented and discussed at:

International Ferenczi Conference 2012, Budapest

Art and Psyche Conference 2012, NYU, New York

Hungarian Psychoanalytic Film Festival 2012

6th RD Laing Conference, 2011, London.

A dvd of the film is available to buy online

running time
6 mins