Sophie Colfer’s ‘Mirrors in the Sky’ is a daring experiment in animation, a film that pulses with its echoes. Created for the Tiny Man Festival under the theme of “blue”, the film is, fittingly, a deep dive into memory – fluid, shifting, and impossible to pin down. The short is narrated by James Morley.
The concept alone is striking: reflections beamed back from space, showing us our past years later, a delayed mirror to what we once were. A fusion of 2D animation and archival glimpses of human history. James Morley’s voiceover adds another spectral layer, almost like an echo of a transmission from a distant place, reminding us that history is not just recorded; it’s waiting to be received.
PiNCH’s sound design (Morley & Oliver Scanlon) leans into the experimental, weaving Morse rhythms into an ambient score that thrums with quiet urgency. The film doesn’t push a narrative in the traditional sense – it invites interpretation rather than insists on it.
Visually, ‘Mirrors in the Sky’ has a hypnotic quality. The animation is immersive yet restrained, resisting the urge to overwhelm, instead letting its textures and dark color palette do the heavy lifting. There’s an elegance in its design, a confidence in its pacing – this is a film that knows exactly what it is.
