Many Happy Returns

In a house on a cliff by the sea, a man and a woman live together and eventually have children. When the mother disappears and the father goes for a swim in the sea, the baby is left to be raised by the twin brothers and the cruel, older sister. When they grow up secrets can only be kept for so long.

The hero now looks a bit like one of those stick figures by Giacometti.

Made as one of a four part series exploring different aspects of women and the law, on which all the women animators involved researched and worked as a group, before then making individual films, each quite different in content, tone and style. Based on the real life experiences of Josie O Dwyer, the film uses her voice as commentary, taken from hours of taped conversation with the filmmaker. Different styles of drawing convey her emotions and the devastating effects detention and imprisonment have on young girls put away 'for their own protection'.