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A woman walks down the sidewalk, avoiding the cracks in the pavement like a child. Her body remains on high alert, remembering the horrors of a war that continues to haunt her.

The Sounds of Things Ablaze transforms a story about human atrocities into a poignant tribute to women who face adversity—one step at a time.

For her debut animated short, which was inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi (in which the cracks in once-broken pottery are highlighted with gold), artist Hayat Najm channels the wounds and imperfections of the past and transmutes them into a poetic work about resilience.

Drawn in charcoal and gold paint, the film features a moving piano score by Jean-Michel Blais.