A woman tries to understand and come to terms with sexual assault in artist and filmmaker Sarah Beeby’s haunting animated short film.
It feels like we’re living through a particularly exciting time for animation. We’ve got beautiful animated films such as The Wild Robot, the Spider-Verse movies and Robot Dreams to mention a few. Artist and filmmaker Sarah Beeby’s Gardening might not be a feature length film, but what a beautiful short it is.
A woman (voiced by Evanna Lynch) is sexually assaulted, making her withdraw into her mind garden. What once was a flourishing Eden of life is now slowly dying, its flowers withering as the woman’s grief intensifies and she struggles to move on or to understand what happened.
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Written by Louisa Wood, Gardening features minimal dialogue, with Beeby letting the visuals do most of the talking. There’s a magical, almost surreal quality to the film that’s magnetising, and it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the screen. Much of Gardening's power also stems from the woman finding connection with someone who has suffered a similar trauma. Beeby and writer Louisa Wood focus on the healing quality of finding connection and sharing your experience with someone. While we never see the assault itself, Beeby treats the subject with honesty and directness that still feels rare in films like this.
Gardening tackles a sensitive, difficult subject with tenderness and imagination. Beeby never talks down to her audience, refusing to make it easier for us to watch. The short carefully but confidently depicts the journey of anger turning to full-blown rage, grief slowly turning into healing and the feeling of nearly losing yourself when faced with something as harrowing as sexual assault.
Gardening screened as part of the HollyShorts London Film Festival 2024.
