Inside, The Valley Sings / Short Documentary / Ireland / 2024
Synopsis:
Secluded in 6x9 cells year after year with little or no human contact, three individuals in prisons across the United States experience the tedium, loneliness and psychological despair of long-term solitary confinement.
Over time, they begin to construct elaborate fantasy worlds to escape their daily reality. Through vivid, hand-drawn animation, ‘Inside, The Valley Sings’ tells their remarkable real-life stories and paints an unforgettable portrait of the power of the human imagination.
Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Featured on Vimeo Staff Picks, Short of the Week and Aeon Magazine.
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Awards:
Academy Award (Oscars) Longlist - 2026
Best Non-Fiction International (Oscar-qualifying) - Short Film Short Shorts & Asia Film Festival
Grand Prix Award for Best International Documentary - 27th Mecal Pro Int. Festival.
Audience Award for Best International Documentary - Friss Hús Budapest Int. Short Film Festival
Best International Documentary Short Film - Leiria Film Festival
Best Animated Short at the Dublin Int. Film Festival
Official Selection:
Sheffield Documentary Festival (World Premiere)
Palm Springs International ShortFest
Animafest Zagreb
London International Animation Festival (LIAF)
Cleveland Int. Film Festival
Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival
Les Arcs Film Festival
PÖFF Shorts at Tallinn Black Nights
Cork International Film Festival
Short Film Short Shorts & Asia Film Festival
27th Mecal Pro Int. Film Festival
Docudays UA Int. Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
Friss Hús Budapest International Short Film Festival
Alexandria Short Film Festival
Millennium Docs Against Gravity
IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival
Regard Film Festival
Bergamo Film Festival
Animation Dingle
Glasgow Short Film Festival
Fipadoc Short Film Festival
Anima, Brussels
Leiria Film Festival
Open Air Filmfest Weiterstadt
Cuenca Internacional Film Festival
Anibar Animation Festival
Animaest (Romania)
SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Coronado Film Festival
Rising of Lusitania - AnimaDoc Film Festival
Nara International Film Festival (Japan)
FAB2025 - Festival of Animation Berlin
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Directed by Nathan Fagan
Animation Director: Natasza Cetner
Producer: Seamus Waters
Production Company: Wonderbread
Score: Die Hexen
Sound Design: Die Hexen
Post-Production Audio: Sound Canvas
Funders: Arts Council of Ireland