Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (The Missing)

From software engineer-turned-filmmaker Carl Joseph E. Papa comes this adult animated science fiction about Eric, a young man struggling with a queer crush, as well as apparently not having a mouth. Eric cannot speak and must communicate using an erasable whiteboard, yet there is a reason for Eric's condition having to do with his estranged uncle and mysterious extraterrestrials from his repressed childhood memories. Papa deftly mixes stunning rotoscoped animation with traditional 2D techniques to portray Eric's quirky and unpredictable journey, which flirts with fantasy and horror elements, yet proves universal in its themes of alienation, self-discovery and reconciliation.
International Film Festival Rotterdam Special Jury Mention, Fantasia Film Festival