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In today's episode, I interview Julia Grupińska, Tian Westraad, and Ezequiel Garibay, three of the five directors of the short film "El Ombligo de la Luna." The short animated film is a heartwarming story of a boy reconnecting with his long lost father and was selected as a finalist for the 2024 Student Academy Awards.

Listen to hear about how the team found the perfect voice for one of their main characters, the meaning of the title of the film, and what movies the directors all agree on as some of their favorites.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

• The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim
• Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky
• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Ambassadors by Henry James

Films mentioned in this episode include:

• "El Ombligo de la Luna” directed by Sara António, Julia Grupińska, Bokang Koatja, Tian Westraad, and Ezequiel Garibay
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring directed by Peter Jackson
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers directed by Peter Jackson
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson
• Whiplash directed by Damien Chazelle
• The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper
• The Matrix directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski

You can check out the film on YouTube and find the work of Aldo Martínez who composed the music for the film on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Follow the film on Instagram @luna.gobelins, Julia @juliagrupinska, Tian @tian.ouest, and Ezequiel @ezequiel_garibay.