Short Pick Of The Day: ‘Girl In The Hallway’ by Valerie Barnhart

“Why does Little Red Riding Hood give Jamie nightmares? It’s been 15 years, and the girl in the hallway haunts him still. This is a testament to locked doors. A lullaby sung by wolves with duct tape and Polaroids. Not all girls make it out of the forest. Some stories children shouldn’t hear.”

Film by Valerie Barnhart, Canada, 2019.

Witness testimony recorded by Jamie DeWolf. Music by Alex Mandel.

Notes from filmmaker:

When Violence comes to mind, it’s usually thought of in terms of active, explosive, and loud. Next to this, it’s too easy to not notice the passive violence that is silence and inaction.

For all the shocking statistics, quotes from studies, and heartbreaking witness testimony I can throw at you- it’s the inaction and silence that keeps Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited targets within the community and society at large.

​Settler colonialism continues to benefit from the dehumanization of Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited.

So it is no surprise that police fail to protect Indigenous Women/Girls or even investigate their disappearances and murders. Consequently, they become targets for violence. This crisis is only compounded by the complexities of inter-generational trauma, and poverty.

The Red Dress is symbolic within this human rights crisis. The complexity of this cultural genocide turns little girls into a Little-Red-Riding-Hood hunted by wolves.

This is a 2d stop-motion animation. I animated this straight-ahead and chronologically. … I used charcoal, conté, pastel, and graphite on black paper and newspaper. In order to create an animated film, I have to destroy every frame I create in order to make the next frame.

​This project has been a very intense experience to go through and see until completion. This started with pictures in my head, a story inside of me, and zero skillsets to pull it off. No better teacher then experience as they say. And you know what? It’s amazing what you can do with an internet connection and a library card. I just sat down in my kitchen, with some tin foil on my window, and learned how to animate. So it’s something I usually have to repeat to people more then once. This is the project I learned how to animate with. This is the project that turned me into an animator.