Reanimated Selected as Finalist for Student Oscars
“Reanimated,” a documentary made this past Spring by Shae Demandt (BFA ’20), has been selected as a Semi-Finalist and then Finalist in the 45th annual Student Academy Awards competition. The film brings to life the colorful graffiti covering the abandoned Miami Marine Stadium. The neglected stadium, devastated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, has been a popular canvas for graffiti artists for decades, and Demandt capitalized on the layers of imagery found amid the empty chairs, aisles, and ramps.
Demandt, a rising Animation and Digital Arts junior, created the film with her classmates Anisha Gupte and Geena Hernandez. As director, editor, and animator, Demandt chose specific paintings found amidst the rubble to bring to life, echoing the artists’ influence on the stadium. The biggest challenge she faced during the editing process was how to technically accomplish her vision. “Since each art piece was different, I wanted to do a different style of animation for each one.” As there were several paintings highlighted throughout the film, Demandt challenged herself to learn multiple animation and compositing programs at the same time. “Reanimated” is unique in comparison to other documentary films as it’s told through the perspective of the stadium, and Demandt specifically wanted to focus on sensory aspects that would bring life to an inanimate object.
The documentary will compete in the Alternative category for the 45th Student Academy Awards and is one of only twenty-one FSU College of Motion Picture Arts films to move forward to this round of the Oscars. “It’s honestly quite surreal, and a huge honor,” Demandt says of the selection. Winners will be announced at the 45th Student Academy Awards presentation, to held on Thursday, October 11, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
