It is seemingly just another school morning for Laura and her mother, Alice. But the differences between their two points of view leave us haunted by questions about Laura’s father. When memory and reality become confused, is it possible to understand what really happened?
The Nest is a film about the transmission of trauma through the generations of a family. It is a film snapped in two, both in narrative and in technique, using oil painted animation to bring out the unconscious motives which drive a difficult family dynamic.
‘Effectively alternating animation with live action, Em Cooper’s short, The Nest, is a triangular family drama observed with remarkable psychological precision. Its images will leave viewers profoundly moved and disturbed.’
– Andrea Sabbadini, Psychoanalyst and Chair of the European Psychoanalytic Film Festival
Cambridge International Film Festival, 2011
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2011
Kiev International Film Festival, 2011
LA Femme International Film Festival, 2011
Leeds International Film Festival, 2011
Freud Museum, London, 2013
Presented and discussed at:
Art and Psyche Conference 2012, NYU, New York
Hungarian Psychoanalytic Film Festival 2012.
running time
11 mins