An animated cinematic effort out of Huntington University, Fire Flower is screening in the Indiana Spotlight 1 block of films during this week's Indy Shorts International Film Festival going on virtually and at Indy's own Tibbs Drive-In cinema. 

This student film was launched in Fall 2014 by the Advanced Studio Production class at Huntington based upon Kayla Mitchell's, now Kayla Mitchell-Heidenreich, one-minute story reel. The ultimate experiment began - to see what would happen if emerging animators had the same time, budget, and resources as a commercial stop-motion studio.

Fire Flower is the final result. 

The family-friendly short film centers around four children - Princess, Fabio, Pigtails, and Curly - from St. Mary's Home for Unfortunate Children as they go on a field trip to the botanical garden to celebrate Princess's birthday. Along the way, they encounter a curious grounds keeper.

Let's just say that before long the fireworks begin. 

This entertaining short film will most likely please the younger kiddoes with its curious stop-motion animation and giggly dialogue. While you're not likely to confuse Fire Flower for a Laika production, it's an impressive student effort and one can't help but look forward to future efforts from these up-and-coming animators. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic