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Two Sisters

1991 10 min
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This animated short, etched directly onto tinted 70 mm film, depicts the story of two sisters: Viola, who writes novels in a dark room, and Marie, her only companion. Disfigured, Viola counts on her sister to take care of her and shelter her from the outside world. But when an unexpected stranger turns up on their front door, the sisters' quiet lives are disrupted and their routine turns to chaos.

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Two Sisters

Details

This animated short, etched directly onto tinted 70 mm film, depicts the story of two sisters: Viola, who writes novels in a dark room, and Marie, her only companion. Disfigured, Viola counts on her sister to take care of her and shelter her from the outside world. But when an unexpected stranger turns up on their front door, the sisters' quiet lives are disrupted and their routine turns to chaos.

  • director
    Caroline Leaf
  • script
    Caroline Leaf
  • animation
    Caroline Leaf
  • producer
    Robert Forget
    Yves Leduc
    Dagmar Gueissaz-Teufel
    Jacques Vallée
  • animation camera
    Pierre Landry
  • sound
    Shelley Craig
    Louis Hone
  • editing
    Camille Laperrière
  • sound editing
    Wojtek Klis
  • re-recording
    Jean-Pierre Joutel
    Shelley Craig
  • voice
    Kathleen Fee
    Jane Woods
    Michael Rudder
  • music
    Judith Gruber-Stitzer

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Education

Ages 12 to 18
Study Guide
School subjects

Warning (if any): Animation is slightly jarring and eerie. Depicts a face with stitches and some deformity, blood

Brief “lesson launcher type” activity or a series of inquiry questions with a bit of context:

Animated film depicting the day-to-day life of two sisters as they experience an interruption to their daily routine.

How would you describe the relationship between the two sisters before the visitor comes? How does it appear to change after the visit?

Viola seems to look at herself differently after the visitor arrives. How does acknowledgement from others affect our self-esteem and how we view ourselves in this world?

Do you think the image of leaving the door open is figurative or literal? Why does the sister continue to stand guard? How does this relate to barriers we may put up in our own lives?

Two Sisters
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Licencing information

Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

You may download this film for private, personal or classroom use only. Public screenings and institutional (non-educational institutions) uses are not permitted. Download films in standard or high definition. (Please note that bonus materials are not available for DTO films.) You can copy each file up to 5 (five) times, onto various devices. DTO films cannot be hosted on a streaming server. To add DTO films to an institutional or educational streaming server, please contact a sales agent to discuss pricing.

Institutional licence

The institutional price includes the rights to screen this film in institutional settings and in free public screenings.