HOMEBIRD | Omeleto Animation

A homesick artist retreats into the memories of the village she left behind.
HOMEBIRD is used with permission from Ewa Smyk. Learn more at ewasmyk.com.
Nina is a hopeful young artist who moves to the city, taking an apartment on her own and discovering a chicken stowed away in her suitcase. Nina sets about applying for jobs and building a life for herself, with the chicken as her only companion. But she feels at odds with the sophisticated cosmopolitan milieu around her.
Finding it hard to make a name for herself, she retreats from promising challenges because of her self-doubt. But exploring the uniqueness of her background and art, she finds a source of inner strength to adapt to her new life.
Directed and animated by Ewa Smyk from a script co-written with Ralph Mathers, this animated short captures a creative young woman's journey to find her place in a new world, cultivating her confidence in the process. The film uses the expressive freedom of animation to create a compelling sense of whimsy that intrigues and delights the eye at every turn.
The 2-D hand-drawn line animation has both a bold simplicity and a vivid dynamism in its color and movement, conveying both the excitement of the main character's new world and the overwhelming nature of this transition, particularly when Nina goes for a job interview and faces an office of sleek urbanites. Smyk's animation is particularly evocative in capturing how gesture and expression can relay social status, and Nina's embarrassment at being an outsider who doesn't fit in is entirely understandable.
But Nina has some allies in her lonely journey, from her charming animal companion to her talent. Retreating into her creative world, she finds herself uninspired and lacking in confidence. But when she begins drawing the images of home and family -- in a beautifully evocative sequence that blurs the borders between time and place -- she rediscovers her roots, along with memories of love and support. The score, too, conveys the richness of Nina's background, with the influences of Polish folk music reminding her of a world of love and belonging. By remembering the richness of her inner world, Nina finds the confidence to believe in her talent and vision once again -- and lets her embrace her new life with boldness and confidence.
Evocative, heartfelt and visually appealing, HOMEBIRD is as free-spirited, vivid and playful as its main character, radiating warmth and gentle humor even at Nina's lowest point. Though Nina is an artist and the animation captures her creative process with fluidity, the idea of carrying our home and our roots within us as a source of identity and strength is an accessible one for many people. Celebrating our uniqueness and remembering the love we hold within are sources of solidity and strength available to us, no matter what we do or where we end up.

[@kristenkrueger5527]

Wonderful !!!❤❤❤❤

[@yassinedabb]

No ambition is too big to confront, you just have to get started ^^

[@ChiIIOutMan]

related to this much more than expected

[@rosemarywilliams9969]

Correction: No animals were harmed in the making of this awesome little film❤

[@CushionSapp]

Chicken is love. Chicken is delicious

[@Maude_T]

So sweet!!

[@SuperCHERISHED]

I didn’t appreciate her taking out her frustration on the chicken who loves her. The chicken appears to have some insecurity also.

[@user-vm2xp2cy6j]

Is it something... Ukrainian. Or Serbian? Not Russian, although...

[@joem13yearsago73]

Chinese

[@kenster8270]

The artist is Polish

[@user-vm2xp2cy6j]

​@@kenster8270, thanks, yea, in description.

[@nhatminhhoang4541]

I cried when she killed the chicken

[@rosemarywilliams9969]

😮😮