HNIFF 2025
Booked A Room
Directed by Kris Lefcoe · United States, United States · 3 min · micro · animation
A surreal stop-motion fantasy about a woman who checks into a motel room for a scheduled nervous breakdown. Booked A Room was animated entirely in-camera (with no CGI), using found vintage motel postcards, a doll, and 3 extra-large tubs of hair gel. This is the first time director Kris Lefcoe has combined her filmmaking, songwriting and performance.
This film's screening window has ended.
From the director
The song and video are based on a true story. In the depth of the pandemic, I was overwhelmed taking care of my young daughter and elderly parents, and badly needed to let out the tears I’d been suppressing and hiding from them all. So I booked a room for a night, just to have somewhere to openly cry. But when I got there, the tears wouldn’t come. So I wrote a song instead.
When I started recording the song, I realized I needed to create the tidal wave of tears I couldn’t produce in real life, on film. I’d shot stopmotion long ago (“Tiny Riot Project” 2007) but this time, I didn’t have the resources to build a miniature set and light it. I called the lead animator on Tiny Riot, Brian Haimes, who suggested using a multi-plane down-shooter that he’d built in his garage, like the one Walt Disney used on Bambi. It scrambled my brain to re-conceive my shots for a locked overhead camera and use only lateral movements. Months of experimentation led us to a combination of 2D vintage postcards and 3D miniature objects that doesn't look quite like anything else I've seen.
We shot for 5 weeks using 3 tubs of hair gel for the water, a ziplock bag for the splash, and glass beads for the bubbles. It was a colossal waste of time that somehow became one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. I hope you enjoy it.
