Filmmaker Statement

If a film is comprised of 24 photographs per second, then an animated film is comprised of 24 drawings per second. And so, after 3 years of production, I'm proud to present over 11,000 individual drawings featured in a work of hybrid hand-drawn and computer generated animation... "The Cocoon" tells the story of a man who is obsessed with cleaning his room; but with every step he takes, he leaves a new mess behind him. In other words, by trying to make things better, he makes them worse. Quite the paradox. I wrote and directed "The Cocoon" because I believe this paradox, and the feelings that come with it — feeling trapped, stuck, unable to change — these are universal experiences. And, taken to an extreme, they can manifest as mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder. We all have flaws. We all have things about ourselves we wish we could get rid of. But rather than denying these things, I believe we should embrace them, make the best of our situation, and find ways to free ourselves. And so, in this way, "The Cocoon" functions as an allegory — both about the debilitating effects of mental illness and the need to change the way we view our "imperfections" in order to create something beautiful. This film is not perfect. And for that reason, I hope you enjoy it.