I was at Rushes 07 and caught this! Fantastic stuff.

Chris Shephards use of narration and animation make this a stunning film sensation.
The sixties setting, especially the backyard bowl of urine scene add to the surreal humour.

On the whole I would say this film is of an unusually high standard and a joy to watch. This is mainly due to the high quality of animation/fx. I was also impressed by the use of sound: the scene where the banging on the wall jolts the vinyl is perfect.

After about five minutes, however, I felt the animation and narration becoming a little plastic and over used; feeling like one of those TV adverts for breakfast cereal or something. The acting too, was quite wooden in my opinion, but forgiveable.

The characters could have been developed more: the relationship between the alcholic mum and the boy was addressed in the dialogue and the scene with her crawling up the stairs was potentially quite moving, but the quick pacing didn't waver long enough for this to be explored in any depth.

That said, it is refreshing to a see short film that isn't afraid to be laugh-out-loud funny and the 60s aesthetic worked well. I just think the film occasionally picked up on themes that could have been made chilling or moving, but passed over them.

Well done!

Just saw "Silence is golden" on Animamundi 2007...it was one of the best shorts on the festival without a doubt.

Oh Chris, you've done a fantastic job. Disgusting, devious and just damn good. Really does show skill and imagination.