Season 9

Crowboy

William Doan, Alexander S. White, Cynthia White

Created from William Doan's Anxiety Project, Crowboy is a contemporary parable about childhood loneliness. Captivated by a crow, a young boy embarks on a journey to return her lost feather.

Animation

Difference

Reflective

Why we chose this film.

This film creatively explores the ways our connections with others can strengthen feelings of identity, purpose, and belonging.

Filmmaker

Inspiration

I started making artwork about living with anxiety and depression over ten years ago in a project I called My Anxiety Project. This was a combination of drawings and solo performance pieces until I teamed up with Cynthia White and Alexander S. White to make short films about mental health and other health related issues. Crowboy is a our fifth project supported by the Arts and Design Research Incubator at Penn State. It is also the most recent work to come out of My Anxiety Project. The feeling of loneliness and isolation were a bit part of my childhood, usually connected to fear and anxiety. But as we worked on Crowboy, the question of what positive, or good might have come from loneliness became interesting. What does it take to overcome loneliness? What choices can one make to try and make meaningful connections that alleviate the intensity of loneliness? These questions and reflections helped shaped the story of Crowboy.

Meet the Filmmaker

William Doan

Producer, Original Artwork, Writer

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