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The story of Sabine

Sabine is a quiet girl with mismatched eyes and a shrinking place in her world. Ignored at home and teased at school, she finds comfort in a tiny caterpillar and her grandmother’s warm presence. But when grief lands heavy, Sabine begins to craft a silent escape—unravelling herself into something ephemeral, luminous, and unforgettable.

At its core, Sabine’s story is about quiet resilience—the ways that small acts of love, grief, and creativity shape our inner worlds.

Through visual metaphor and delicate symbolism, I wanted to explore how isolation can evolve into transformation, and how even the most overlooked among us leave behind traces of beauty.

Behind the story of Sabine

Sabine is a quiet elegy for the gentle, the different, the unseen. It began as a personal reckoning — an attempt to understand what it means to exist on the margins of a world that too often mistakes uniqueness for flaw. In this story, being different is not a weakness, but a quiet strength waiting to unfold.

The name Sabine honours German artist Sabine Lepsius and her “fight for visibility” — a movement born from resistance to erasure, and a testament to the enduring power of expression. That lineage threads through the film: a refusal to let softness be silenced, a call to see value where others refuse.

In a world quick to ridicule what it doesn’t understand, Sabine reminds us that even the smallest acts of kindness — the company of a caterpillar, a grandmother’s quiet attention — can shift the shape of someone’s life. For gentle souls, these gestures are lifelines.

Sabine is an invitation to imagine a world where difference isn’t derided, but accepted. Where tenderness isn’t weakness, but resilience. And where retreat into one’s own cocoon may lead not to isolation, but to metamorphosis — a way out of sorrow, and into selfhood.

The Storyteller

Lydia Anne Stander

Lydia Anne Stander is a South African director and writer whose work examines social themes through a nuanced female perspective. Her storytelling balances relevance with levity — engaging audiences in thoughtful reflection.

She studied Film Production at Open Window University, where she graduated top of her class in 2022 and earned multiple accolades for her student short Sexed, including Best Editing, Best Film Production, and Best Sound Design at the Sapling Awards, alongside a Pangolin Award for Most Successful Certificate Short Film. Sexed has screened internationally as an official selection at 15 festivals and has received four awards to date.

Lydia’s short film Liewe Dudu was selected by the KykNet Silwerskermfees in 2024, marking her emergence as a director on the national stage. Her screenplay Tottermot was a finalist in the 2023 South African Writers Guild Muse Awards with Liewe Dudu winning Best Produced Short Film in 2024. Her feature script eBhayi, developed during her screenwriting studies with SA Writers College, was awarded a distinction and was shortlisted in the Showmax /JFF First Time Directors Competition.

Her screenplay Nadia Deconstructed has garnered international recognition, reaching the Semi-Finals in the Emerging Screenwriters Competition (Sci-Fi/Fantasy), Quarter Finals in Table Read My Screenplay and Creative Writing Unique Voices, and advancing to the second round of the ISA Fast Track Fellowship.

Working across film, screenwriting, painting, and 3D concept art, Lydia’s creative practice is driven by a passion for crafting evocative work that encourages empathy and understanding. By creating spaces for dialogue and shared insight, Lydia’s work invites new perspectives and connections.

Original Score

by Laurie Levine

Laurie Levine is a SAMA-nominated singer-songwriter, composer, and producer with three decades of music-making experience. Her journey in music has been one of unwavering dedication to capturing the depth of human emotion and creating beauty through sound.

“Sabine is poignantly crafted with a great deal of sensitivity and empathy, and as a composer, these are the kinds of stories that I love to compose music for. As I shaped the sound for the story, I felt myself stepping into Sabine’s internal world. Each note and each musical choice was intimately connected to the world through Sabine’s eyes and Sabine’s spirit. So, in some ways, composing music is aligned with acting – you experience and “become” your characters. In only 3 minutes, the length of the film, Sabine’s nuanced emotional journey is beautifully and fully captured. My role as a composer and sound designer was to bring a 3D element to these emotions, making them come alive through sound, moment by moment. I wanted the music to reflect the tenderness of the story, inviting viewers to experience Sabine’s world with great feeling and compassion. It was special to work on a film that highlights some very important messages which resonate with me, and I feel honoured to be part of Sabine’s story.”

Frame by Frame Animation

by Bodunde Odunayo

[Freedomlance Animation Studio]

Working on Sabine was a meaningful experience for me and my team at Freedomlance Animation Studio. The film’s exploration of loss and emotional depth gave us a rich creative challenge: to translate its vision into frame-by-frame animation that felt honest and resonant. Although we were based in Nigeria and Lydia, the creative director, was in South Africa, the collaboration unfolded smoothly across borders, built on clear communication and shared intent.

As the director of our animation team, I focused on maintaining the tone and pacing that Lydia envisioned, ensuring every scene reflected the emotional nuance of the story. Sabine was a rewarding project—one that reminded me of the importance of adaptability, attention to detail, and staying true to the heart of a commission. I remain committed to delivering work of the highest standard while preserving the artistic soul of every project we take on.