This project began with my interest in visualizing the true stories of people within my community. A fourteen year old girl named Gabrielle told me about the difficulty of being diagnosed with a rare vascular disease upon entering high school. She tells a tale of self assurance and empowerment despite the hardships of her illness and the strange spontaneous nosebleeds that are its symptom.

This was a collaborative effort. Gabrielle and I conducted several interviews, made sketches, photographs and discussed her representation. The animation is created from cut-paper puppets made from photographs, then animated through several layers of glass to create depth.

This work was made with a grant from the LEF Moving Image Fund.
The animation was screened at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.