Céline Roustan

Living next to The Gap, a cliff in Sydney infamously known for suicidal attempts, over 45-years a man named Don Ritchie approached hundreds of suicidal individuals, offering a hand and a cup of tea. In Teacups, directors Alec Green and Finbar Watson honor his memory by depicting both these interactions and Don’s inner conflict. Striking and effective, the animation allows the emotional layer of the narrative to be all the more potent.

“An ordinary person’s small acts of kindness can change thousands of lives”

“In Australia, Don’s story has become somewhat of a folk tale”, the directors shared with us. They also added that while many know his name, not everyone knows what he actually did, which prompted them to do some research about both his life and mental health. Animated by the idea that “an ordinary person’s small acts of kindness can change thousands of lives”, and how universal mental health issues are, Don’s story felt incredibly important to the filmmakers. By articulating their film around his life, they hoped to play a “part in keeping his name in our minds”.

“the approach was to keep things simple and uncluttered, with minimal and hopefully appealing designs for the characters and big, broad use of color” – the directorial duo discuss their aesthetic choices.

Given the nature of the narrative, both the tone and the visual aesthetic had to strike the right chord to properly capture the story. There is a sensitivity and humility in the dialogue that makes the character of Don incredibly compelling and fascinating. The film never gets overly dramatic, which would have negated how respectful it is, instead it remains quite matter-of-fact in what is said, giving us a sense of what actually happened. Film buffs with good ears will have recognized Hugo Weaving narrating the film as Don and through his voice, he infuses so much depth in the recounting of this incredible man’s life. While he remains quite neutral, his voice carries nuances and subtleties that flesh out his character and echo his humility, making the moment when he talks about his best friend utterly heartbreaking. 

The images and the colors are how the emotions manifest themselves throughout the film. With Alan Holly (Coda, Old Fangs), their animation/art director, Green and Watson opted for a minimalist style that would prevent any distractions and put the focus solely on Don’s emotional state of mind. By creating an atmosphere from Don’s emotional state, they immerse the audience in his story. The colors are carefully chosen to dictate the tone and have a tactile quality to them that allow us to feel the different layers of the story. Combined with the narration, the audience is given the room to process the story and how many lives Don has changed with such a simple act of kindness.

Teacups is currently FYC in the Best Animated Short Film Oscar race, having won two qualifying awards (and many others) over the course of a festival run that consisted of more than twenty selections, including Sydney Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest or Palm Springs ShortFest.