Family Ties Run Deep In Carla Morris’ ‘Oom Johannes’

Carla (Veldman) Morris’ latest short film Oom Johannes is available to watch now. A Sheridan College graduate, Morris is a storyboard artist and indie filmmaker with a background in stop motion.

Oom Johannes’s touching story demands an aesthetic to match, and Veldman delivers the goods. Spare pencil-on-paper sketches and a monochrome palette do little to hide the filmmaker’s illustrative talent. Her drawings are minimalist but do everything necessary to tell a complete story in just 90 seconds with only a bit of autobiographical dialogue.

In the short, Veldman meets her great uncle during a trip to the Netherlands. When Oom (uncle) Johannes pulls her in for a hug and whispers the word “liefie,” darling in English, in her ear, Veldman is transported back to childhood and the unparalleled comfort and safety of resting on the lap of a loved one.