You May Own the Lanterns, but We Have the Light (Ep.1 Home Alone) (2022)

• 85%
• 2022
• Haig Aivazian

A short, black and white film comprised of found cartoons and animations, all re-drawn and re-animated with varying degrees of alterations to the original source material. Drawing from the magic lantern and the evolution of the language and technique of animation, where fantasy and animistic desires, are created through highly rigid and hierarchical modes of production and optical engineering, the diverse found cartoon footage is edited and transformed to paint a picture of a city plunged in darkness, where inhabitants engage in various forms of escapism and confrontation. The plot of the film starts in the guise of a linear narrative where two young adults go out to dance, while a younger child is left behind to devolve into increasingly tempestuous dreams.