35 Days

Strangers answer the call to locate a lost pet.

“35 Days” is an experimental, stop motion animation about what happens when a coalition of strangers answers the call to locate a missing cat during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. Voicemail messages from neighbors reveal the empathy and core connection we have for, and with, our pets and each other, demonstrating how a virtual community can transcend the isolation of the pandemic.

Animated frame-by-frame using fabric and paper cutouts, thread and wool.

Music excerpts by Frank Pahl from “Music for Architecture.”
Animation assistant: Sophie Hullinger
Graphics assistant: Valerie Matula

Run time: 6:49 min.
1.78:1 (16×9 HD)
USA
2025
Stereo
English

“35 Days” PRESS KIT HERE
1 page Summary/Bio

True story: My cat went missing during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. I launched a major search for him, distributing flyers, knocking on doors, following every lead. I received dozens of calls from concerned neighbors and strangers who claimed to have seen my orange tabby. This is their story–pieced together like clues to a crime.

2026 Screenings
Ann Arbor Film Festival
DC Independent Film Festival
Toronto Short Film Festival
Experiments in Cinema, Albuquerque, NM
Spokane International Film Festival
New Jersey International Film Festival
Athens Int’l Film and Video Festival
Big Muddy Film Festival, IL
Philadelphia Independent Film Festival
Currents New Media Festival
Humboldt International Film Festival
Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival
Grrl Haus Cinema
Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti
Madrid Indie Film Festival
Made in Michigan Film Series

Awards
CameraMall Best Michigan Filmmaker, Ann Arbor Film Festival, 2026
Best Animation Inspired by True Events, Pulse of Animation Festival, 2026

Honorable Mention
Video Art and Experimental Film Festival, NYC, 2025
Los Angeles Animation Festival, 2025