This movie will play on:
All screenings will take place at
COLLEGE OF THE DESERT | POLLOCK THEATER
43500 Monterey Ave, Palm Desert, CA
Synopsis
Nikolas, a young boy, lives blissfully watching the world go by. Stars float over his head, butterflies float through a valley of blooming flowers and the sun and the moon chase each other through the sky. Everything is warm and sweet and familiar until the Moon chases the Sun into the horizon and Nikolas’ world becomes cold and dark. He sets off to find the Sun and Moon and goes on an emotional journey, discovering warmth in unusual places and facing despair for the first time. His journey is guided by the music, Nikolai Rimsky-Karsakov’s “The Kalendar Prince” which is the emotional anchorpoint of the film and also the base inspiration for the pacing of the film.
Cleto Acosta-McKillop is a Paraguayan-American Director and Animator. Moon Melody is his first short film endeavor and his directorial debut. He is currently working as an art director in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and founded the animation collective, SUGAR Animation, to help form and grow the animation community in the midwest. He wrote and produced Moon Melody as a reflection of his own experiences and as an embodiment of what he loves and respects in filmmaking.
“Moon Melody” is a 6-minute Children’s fantasy short-animated film about a boy suffering from culture shock, struggling to find comfort in an unfamiliar setting. Set to the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Kalendar Prince”. This being my first short film I wanted to tell a story close to home. I wanted the film to be open to the viewers interpretation, giving the audience the ability to take the story and read it as if it were their own reflections. I wanted the story to feel timeless and to touch on nostalgia and fantasy, but I think for many this is a familiar and very close-to-home tale. A tale told in both symbolism and color.
