Birds of a Feather
A talkative parrot attempts to befriend a boy with Tourette's Syndrome. A 2D animated capstone short film.
About this film
For my capstone, my first goal was to create a film that has an appealing story that reflects who I am as a writer. The most engaging stories to me all have a focus on character growth and development, so I wanted to create a story that showcases the changing relationship between two characters, for better or worse, as they meet and interact with each other.
Additionally, I have Tourette’s Syndrome and struggle to find positive representation in media, specifically animation. With this film, I want to contribute something that reflects what I want to see in the world in regards to this condition. My main focus has been authenticity when crafting the story and character of Damien, striving to showcase a realistic portrayal of TS while also leaving room to have play with the concept and make people laugh without punching down.
This film is a collaborative project. I am the story artist and animator. The backgrounds are created by Shine Xing, and the composition was created by my brother, Ethan Cobos

Trailer
Festival Run

New York City Student Film Festival
Honorable Mention
July 11th - Virtual Screening

Hamilton New York International Film Festival
Official Selection
July 22nd - The Hamilton Theater, Hamilton, NY

Children's Film Festival Seattle
Official Selection
July 25th - Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, WA
July 26th - Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, WA

Big Teeth Small Shorts Film Festival
Official Selection
July 30th - Facets Theater, Chicago, Il

Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology
Official Selection
August 9th - The Empirical Theater, Portland, OR

We Like 'Em Short - Animation and Comedy Festival
Official Selection
August - Churchill School, Baker City, OR

Astoria Film Festival
Official Selection

Blackbird Film Festival
Official Selection

Nantucket Film Festival
Official Selection

Mind the Indie Film Festival
Official Selection

Valkyrie International Film Festival
Best Animated Student Short

Peekskill Film Festival
Official Selection

Chicago Film Frenzy
Official Selection

Philadelphia Independent Film Festival
Official Selection

Bloomington International Film Festival
Official Selection

Albany Film Festival
Best Animated Short

Yale Student Film Festival
Official Selection

Minneapolis St Paul International
Film Festival
Official Selection

New Bedford Film Festival
Best Animated Short - Nominee

Toronto Animation Arts Festival International
Official Selection

Spark Micro Short Film Festival
Official Selection

Rochester International Film Festival
Official Selection

Over the Rhine International Film Festival
Official Selection

Official Selection
Green Mountain Film Festival

BAMkids Film Festival
Official Selection

Providence Children's Film Festival
Emerging Filmmaker Award

Finger Lakes Film Festival
Official Selection

Indie-Lincs International Film Festival
Official Selection

Art Without Limit Film Festival
Official Selection

Raleigh Film & Art Festival
Official Selection

Buffalo International Film Festival
Winner Best Animated Film

Wine Dark Short Film Festival
Official Selection

Syracuse International Film Festival
Official Selection

Mt Gretna International Film Festival
Vita Maxima Award, Best Comedy, Best Sound Design

New York Animation Film Awards
Best Student Animation - Finalist

Rare by Design: The Film Festival
Official Selection

Feedback Under 5 Minute Film Festival
Winner Best Student Film

The French Duck Film Festival
Harlequin Duck Edition - Finalist

The Reel Good, Feel Good Film Festival
Official Selection

Alternative Film Festival
Fall 2024 - Best USA Animation

Reflection of Disability in Art Festival
Official Selection

The Dove Block Project
Official Selection
Artist Statement
My experience with Tourette's wasn’t the only factor behind the making of this film. From my first year at RIT, I wanted my education to focus on character animation and story boarding. Therefore, I crafted a capstone that relied on these artistic aspects in order to create a piece that reflected my strengths as an animator. Because of the significant lack of dialogue outside of tics and parroting, I focused my energy on my choice of shots and animating body language to convey the emotional journey I intended for my audience. To ensure I gave myself enough time to focus on those elements, I recruited a background artist to help me with layouts and painting the backdrop of this film. While I created all of the characters and animation, my friend and recent RIT alumni, Shine Xing, created the backdrop of this film. Working with her on this project was incredibly rewarding both as an artist and for the film as a whole, and reminded me again that animation is a collaborative effort, and we as artists have everything to gain when we work with each other
A year ago, when I started conceptualizing my capstone, my first goal was to tell a story that featured Tourette’s syndrome in some way. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder that causes someone to make repetitive movements or sounds that are outside of their control and is something I was diagnosed with when I was 16. As a writer and animator, I use fiction and art to navigate my life and make sense of the world around me. Because of this, I wanted my film to reflect not only my experiences with Tourette’s but also tell a story that contributes to the world the type of representation I want to see, specifically a story that centers itself around fun and creative situations as opposed to overcoming adversity.



Overall, creating my capstone over the past year has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life, and I’m so excited to continue to tell meaningful stories and create authentic representation as I transition from student to professional. Thank you again to everyone who has supported me and this film, it means the world to me to finally share this story with you all today.