Rob Munday

A stylish meditation on the relationship between children and their parents, Alex Bernas’ RCA grad film White Lilacs is a very personal narrative reflecting on the director’s own upbringing. Situated in unusual territory somewhere between abstract and mainstream animation, White Lilacs is a film that straddles genres and playfully skips between tones and styles.

Keen to stress that White Lilacs is in no way an autobiographical tale, Bernas was, however, eager to explore some very real and personal feelings with his short. With parent/child relationships the primary theme the director decided to follow with this narrative, he felt like he had to paint an honest picture as a reflection of his own childhood.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have had a pretty great mum and dad”, Bernas reveals, “they’re both musicians and fostered creativity in my brother and me. I strived to create a sincere, positive narrative – anything else would have been disingenuous on my part”.

Using the three terms in his final year at the RCA to form his production schedule (term 1 – storyboard, term 2 – animate, term 3 – colour), the sombre visuals of White Lilacs works perfectly with its contemplative storyline. Opening with a very artistic hand-drawn aesthetic as we witness the film’s protagonist as child, the film soon switches to a more colourful, “cartoonish” look as we progress into his adult life.

White Lilacs is a really beautiful short. The storytelling shows great restraint, whilst also containing some heartfelt emotion and personal reflection. It’s a film that pushes boundaries and feels innovative, whilst still retaining an accessible and relatable nature. Exactly the kind of thing we’re always eager and proud to champion on Short of the Week.

Since graduating from the RCA, Alex has moved to LA and is now working on some new animated projects, with an eye on moving in to storyboarding.