“Acrobats”
Title:
- Acrobats
Conference:
Description:
Lili and her girlfriend share a tender moment, leaving Lili blushing with a flower in her hair. Later at home, her happy demeanor drops as she hides the flower in a pocket. But it doesn’t go unnoticed by her father. His assumptions piles pressure onto Lili, causing her to hiccup, then vomit small acrobats onto her plate. These little beings run around with a joyful chaos, inadvertently disrupting the model town on the table. This ends in a romantic dance between two acrobats, revealing Lili’s secret to her father. At first the father seems compassionate, gently gathering the acrobats into his hands, only to abruptly toss them into a drawer. Before Lili can process what has happened, her grandmother arrives from the kitchen. Upon seeing the acrobats on the table, Granny reacts violently, smashing them with her ladle. Shaken, Lili vomits again, unleashing an entire wave of acrobats which floods the room. The grandmother’s attacks become more frenzied, threatening not only the acrobats, but the miniature world on the table. Terrified, the father tries to protect his model town, cowering in his seat. Lili must then intervene to stop her grandmother’s rampage. She asserts herself, and her acrobats form a circle and together create a big circus tent that fills the space. The spotlights turn on, revealing the inside of the big top, filled with acrobats performing their acts. Lili looks toward her family: her grandmother storms out of the circus, and her father timidly follows. With bittersweet acceptance, Lili lets them go, fully emancipating herself from the pressure she was under. The father finally turns back and admires his daughter.
