SIFF 2024: The Missing(***)

By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 11, 2024)

https://www.siff.net/images/FESTIVAL/2024/Films/Film%20Detail%20Hero%20Sizes/Features/Missing.jpg

Writer-director Carl Joseph Papa uses a combination of rotoscoping and hand-drawn animation for this semi-autobiographical drama (the Philippines’ first animated Oscars submission for Best International Feature). A young gay animator who has been mute since childhood suffers a break from reality after discovering his uncle’s body during a wellness check. As the young man comes to grips with suppressed memories, what ensues is an honest, raw, and emotional look at the effects of childhood trauma.

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