Rosemary A.D (After Dad)


Rosemary A.D. is a 2022 animated short film directed by Ethan Barrett. The film was entirely drawn by hand, with coloured crayons. Since its premiere at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival, Rosemary A.D. has been selected in numerous international film festivals, including, Animafest Zagreb and the Austin Film Festival. Most recently, the film won its fourth Oscar-qualifying award at, making it the short film with the most Oscar-qualifying wins in any category this year.

Plot

A father struggling with depression explores the possible outcomes of his newborn daughter's life, should he not be a part of it.

Production

Barrett started to develop the idea for a film about his struggles on mental health shortly before the birth of his daughter, Rosemary. After she was born, he decided to turn these journals into a film.
The film was traditionally animated with crayons on paper. The hand-drawn drawings were shot with a DSLR camera on a tripod and edited using the Adobe Photoshop software. The short also includes short scenes were the stop-motion technique was used.

Reception

Since its release, the film has been selected in various festivals around the world:
YearFestivalsAward/CategoryStatus
2022London Film FestivalBest Short Film
2022St. Louis International Film FestivalBest Animated ShortWon
2022Leipzig DOK FestivalGolden Dove
2022Spark AnimationSpecial Mention: ComedyWon
2022Cairo International Film FestivalYoussef Chahin Award for Best Short FilmWon
2022Austin Film FestivalJury Award for Best Animated ShortWon
2022Austin Film FestivalAudience Award for Best Animated ShortWon
2023Cordillera International Film FestivalJury Award for Best Animated ShortWon
2023Grand Prize for Best Animated ShortWon
2023Audience Choice Award for Best Animated ShortWon
2023Cleveland International Film FestivalHonorable Mention: Best Animated ShortWon
2023Atlanta Film FestivalJury Special MentionWon
2023Animafest ZagrebGrand Prize
2023Guanajuato International Film FestivalBest Animated Short Film
2023Dances With FilmsSpecial Recognition for Personal StorytellingWon