The work was available on our website only for the period of the screening.
“To Think Inside the Box” (00:12:18) by Anna Audrien, Chiara Scoglio, Hector T. J. Huang, UK, Italy, Taiwan, 2022
To Think Inside the Box tells the story of Clara, a doll made up of scrap materials and living in an antique shop. She spends all her time inside her box, which features a number of different accessories she loves to play with. In spite of never having experienced anything different, Clara’s personality is fully formed and extremely rich and interesting. She does, however, long for a friend to share her passions with, being curious about the outside world. Needless to say, when Clara is suddenly bought by a little girl, she cannot contain her enthusiasm. What seems like a dream come true, however, quickly turns into a nightmare: the little girl loves to play with Clara by styling her hair, changing her outfit, having her have afternoon tea together. She is determined to transform the doll into the perfect companion, but this implies Clara’s annihilation. The doll, in fact, progressively looses her personality and really becomes nothing less than an object. The little girl, however, is soon bored of her toy, ending up abandoning her in a corner of the house. The doll is put back in her box, where – finally – she remembers who she really is and has always been. Clara finds herself again, but at what cost? Is it possible to fully be one’s real self only when alone, uncorrupted by the rest of the world?
The short film has been created with absolutely no budget and exclusively using random materials lying around the house. I am very interested in making art by recycling materials and avoiding waste, a principle that has been pretty much at the base of this project. Regarding my background, I am a recent MFA Writing graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where I specialized in puppetry and object theater as well as writing for film. I love visual arts and my practice is an attempt at merging my various interests together.
Director, Editor: Anna Audrien
Writer, Props and Puppet Maker: Chiara Scoglio
Prop Maker: Loe D’Arcy
Music: Declan Robertson
Cast: Hector T. J. Huang, Shakira Kazlauskaitė
Special thanks: The Vaults
Biographies:
Anna Audrien is a filmmaker based in London who enjoys telling stories that are unusual and that people can find relatable. She wants to use visual art as a way to raise awareness and create a community. She’s currently in the process of writing her first feature and start her business.
Chiara Scoglio is an Italian writer, visual artist and puppetry theatre maker based in the UK. Her work always attempts to merge words and visuals while exploring her sense of self and experience of the outside world. She would define her practice as a patchwork of inspirations and impressions both children and grown-ups alike can enjoy. To Think Inside the Box is her first attempt at filmmaking, whereas her previous credits include the short plays The Relativity of the Mirror and Marina as well as the showcase and monologue Tarantasio.
Hector is a Taiwanese theatre maker, writer, and puppeteer based in London. He wrote and performed in his most recent short play GREGNANT (Engine Room, Omnibus Theatre). His stage play A Thousand Papercuts Still Skin Deep had a run at Barons Court Theatre. His other writing works have been performed online, at Camden People’s Theatre and LV21, Kent. He also puppeteered for puppetry short To Think Inside the Box and Marina (LV21).
Recently completed his MFA in writing at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Hector is currently training at the Curious School of Puppetry.
Pebbles Underground is focused on showcasing and promoting experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget projects by artist-humans from all over the world. Absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, slow-video – all are welcomed, and loved.
Pebbles Underground is an independent project not funded by any government or corporation, and we intend to keep it that way. Main source of funding is personal donations from humans organizing the project, who are artists themselves, and the main drive of the project is formed by the energy and involvement of the organizers, and the public.
