Kaleidoscope 2017: FIVE REASONS TO WATCH ‘IN A HEARTBEAT’ RIGHT NOW

By Amrita Menon (Team Creative)

Links to the short film and its soundtrack will be available at the end of the article.

‘In a Heartbeat’ is the new viral short film that’s been making its rounds on the internet since the day it was uploaded to YouTube (31^st July, 2017), and that has already gained over 25 million views. Here are some reasons you should absolutely, definitely watch it.

1) It’s a heart-warming short film about a boy falling for another boy. The story is a familiar one that has been told over and over again, but by using same sex characters the story lends itself to a deeper message about how completely natural queer love is. No matter what your sexual orientation is, this film will definitely tug at your heart strings.

2) Nothing like this has ever been made for the public domain before. No major animated film has ever featured, or even tackled the subject of prominent LGBTQ+ relationships, until very recently. All four minutes of this film, however are dedicated to showing two boys falling in love. Showing more representations of queer love on-screen is perhaps a step towards normalising it in society and this film did exactly that.

3) The film was made by Beth David and Esteban Bravo, two students (yes, I said students) as their senior thesis project at the Ringling College of Art and Design. Watching the film after knowing that it was made by students will simultaneously put you in awe of them and make you feel like you’re not doing enough with your life.

4)The animation is beautiful. It looks like it could have been made by Pixar or DreamWorks or any of the other big animation studios. The colours and the detail that went into it are amazing. Every expression and body movement is so subtle, nuanced and full of emotion that it adds a whole new level of realistic depth to the film.

5) You wouldn’t think that a student film would have such beautiful music but it’s already been established that nothing about this film is ‘typical’. The soundtrack is by Arturo Cardelus, a Spanish composer and pianist, whose music parallels the visuals effortlessly. His music evokes emotions that no dialogue ever could.