A cook is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to act in a film. “The Role,” directed by Paolo Chianta, is a hand-drawn animated film that traces a quiet man’s foray into an unfamiliar world. After discovering that he bears a striking resemblance to their father, a pair of siblings ask the cook to play their father in a film. Without giving it much thought, the man decides to go for it, quitting his job and moving with his children to the city. The kids love the vibrant city life but the former cook struggles in his preparations to play the charismatic father, particularly after the siblings have a change of heart. With its ballpoint pen etchings, the film is stylistically and tonally similar to Chianta’s previous short, “Tap Runner” which we featured in 2022. Both films are rendered with a humble, melancholic quality and enriched by metaphorical potency. -KA. Director: Paolo Chianta. Cast: Paolo Chianta, Lilah Vandenburgh. Writer/Producer/Animator/Music: Paolo Chianta. Co-Producer: Lilah Vandenburgh.

https://www.nobudge.com/videos/tap-runner