Ovary-Acting is a stop-motion short from Sweden-based director, Ida Melum. This is a 12 minute whirlwind to encapsulate the universally resonant internal debate which tends to plague many between their late 20s to 30s. That big debate centres around the ominous question, “Do I want children?”.
Ovary-Acting, notwithstanding it’s fabulously punny title, follows Eva, a 34-year old who is interrogated by various relatives at her sister’s baby shower, about when she might pop one out too. She runs out to the bathroom, overwhelmed by the sexist insensitive questioning. She clutches her abdomen in pain and sees her womb and stomach ballooning out. She gives birth to another character – her own ovaries, cutely called Ovy, in the film. It’s a brilliant way of projecting Eva’s inner dialogue on the big question of having children.
Eva, freaked out understandably, and not wanting to confront her own biology, runs away with Ovy in quick pursuit. Ovy attempts to persuade Eva to have children, and Eva does the opposite – she explains that there’s more to life than being a mum. Eva and Ovy go back and forth on their perspectives until towards the end, they both come to a place of understanding each other’s perspectives. They begin to truly listen and accept that there’s no right or wrong answer here, but there is a little thing called ‘societal expectation’ which makes deciphering the question of wanting kids, really very complicated.
Ida Melum has created a light-hearted way of exploring these quite gnawing existential questions that a lot of people will be able to relate to, especially now when reproductive rights have regressed in parts of the world. The visual style of needle-felted puppets for this stop motion makes the characters even more accessible through the fuzzily warm way in which they’re made. There’s a playful and bounciness to the dialogue which never makes the tone of the film overly serious or didactic.
Melum’s previous animated short Night of the Living Dead, was nominated for a BAFTA and with this short, it’s clear that this is a director with lots of budding potential.
