An Absolutely Essential Survival Kit for Growing Up - Julia Merten

Mixed-media Animation

Instead of giving her younger self a letter, or cliche advice, graduating senior Julia will pack her younger self a suitcase for her future. The Audience explores the concept of β€œwhat would you tell your younger self about what you know?”.

β€œAn Absolutely Essential Survival Kit for Growing Up”

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This film is an artistic investigation of the concept of β€œwhat would you tell your younger self about what you know now?”. We speak about growth and traumatic experiences we wish we could have avoided. Instead of giving her younger self a letter, or cliche advice, graduating senior Julia will pack her younger self a suitcase for her future. Each individual item has a background story that will be told through collage animation and stop motion. The emotional journey will be one of exploration, humor, light heartedness, and relatability. This will all lead up to the fact that, while she could give all of these items to her former self, she might not understand their purpose. Ultimately, the audience will uncover that preparing for the future is silly, as humans truly add to their β€˜suitcases’ as they go.

Collage of hands holding candy and vaseline, with trees, mountains and lakes in background
Collage of suitcase with items unpacked
Collage of hand pointing at note paper and butterfly on artificial grass
Collage of fish, a TV and a cut-out person in a pool

Artist Talk