by Director Mitra Shahidi

In my short film, "Starling”, a mischievous little spirit shoots down from the sky to return to her family's home on her birthday. On the way, rainclouds derail her and she misses her target, causing her to tumble onto the streets of Istanbul, where she grew up.  As she makes her way through the city we see her experience all the things she loved when she was among us. 

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The idea for Starling emerged after the passing of my dear childhood friend. As I began to process my emotions through this film, her memory and my personality merged into one with the development of the Starling character. In essence, the film has become a heartfelt tribute to our shared childhood and to those we’ve loved and lost along the way. It was particularly important to me to involve artists from Turkey in the filmmaking process as the story takes place in Istanbul. I wanted to keep the tone playful to honor my friend’s shining personality and presence. It has been a privilege to create it with people who are experts in the field of animation; lightning in a bottle.