(courtesy official Sunspark site)
SNAPSHOT
In a post-human wasteland, a robot scavenger unexpectedly finds the broken body of another robot while looking for spare parts. After failing to fully revive her, he must decide how much of himself he’s willing to give in order to bring her back to life. Sunspark is an 11-minute 3D animated short film created entirely by a single passion-driven filmmaker. The visual style intentionally mimics stop-motion animation by using realistic textures, handcrafted models, and cinematic lighting. By exploring universal themes of selflessness, sacrifice, and renewal, Sunspark shows that it’s possible to live a life of quiet but meaningful connection in an otherwise inhospitable world. (courtesy and (c) Short Film Depot)
If you’re a creative person, having a passion project into which you can channel all that imagination and energy that might not currently have a place to go is so important. (This blog is my passion project; I’m a content writer for a healthcare association by day, and while that offers me some small scope for creativity, it’s this blog that allows me to really let lose and have some fun.)
And you can tell a passion project from a mile off; they radiate a buoyant energy and love of the craft, both of which are clearly evident in even the preview trailer for an 11-minute stop motion piece of heartfelt wonder by Danny Bourque, a Seattle-based visual artist, musician, and filmmaker, who has spent two years writing, producing, directing and animating Sunspark.
It is literally the work of one remarkable person from devising the original story to completing the final film, which is now being to a range of film festivals for a 2026 screening.
I can only hope one of the film festivals that’s been applied is the Sydney Film Festival because I would love to what looks a gem of a short film that not only looks delightful but which appears real heart and soul into the bargain.
Find out more here and here, and make sure you look for Sunspark at a film festival near you this year.