2 : 23
In the factory, a worker pounds away at the metal, his body syncing to the rhythm of the machine, until a pain in his neck begins to grow, his flesh throbs, writhing, tearing, swallowing him whole.
Writer/Director/Editor: Xiao Xiao
AD: Kemi Star Alade
Director of Photography: Esther Yun Kong
Additional Photography/Animation: Xiao Xiao
Sound Design: Xiao Xiao
Colorist: Imaji Fabiandava
2026 Official Selection at National Film Festival for Talented Youth
Programmers picks:
“Life is a grind. Are we our work, or is our work us? Where do we draw the line between man and machine? In just two and a half minutes, Xiao Xiao’s Squelch attempts to answer these questions. Squelch is a film that does more than get under your skin, it courses through your veins like hot lava, cementing itself right in the center of your living, beating flesh.”
-- Abby Wright
2025 Recipient of the Barrett Endowed Scholarship