Short Pick Of The Day: ‘Isle of Chair’ by Ivyy Chen

“On a secluded Island, a chair has fallen down.”

Film by Ivyy Chen, U.K./Taiwan, 2020. Sponsored by Taiwan National Culture and Arts Foundation.

Notes from the filmmaker:

Isle of Chair is inspired by Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and the experience of myself and others on mental illness. ‘If a fallen chair symbolizes death, loss, damage and dysfunction, would you want to help the chair to stand again? If the chair can never stand in a way that you prefer, would you accept that? Or, would you let it be?’

In the past five years, I have been telling many stories through the chairs in picture books, illustration, and animation shorts. I explore the diverse ways in which people connect to chairs, and how these everyday objects can embody various emotions and connections. I like to use the symbolism of the Chair to tell stories about emotions and connection. A chair could represent a role, a position, an identity, a relationship or a state of mind.