In this short animation directed by Diyala Muir and produced by Girls in Film, the peace of a secluded society is disrupted by the sudden arrival of a mysterious object, which they interpret as a gift.

Zindy, a creative and observant member of the community, is particularly drawn to the object, a pair of red shoes, and secretly tries them on. Once worn, the shoes spring to life and drag Zindy away from their family, dancing for days until they are at the other end of the planet. Exhausted and hopeless, Zindy takes a desperate measure in an effort to regain control, unknowingly uncovering a huge secret and even bigger threat to their existence. In this modern interpretation of the classic fairy tale ‘The Red Shoes’ our protagonist fights for their own agency, throughout a symbolic journey which should resonate with anyone who has either chosen or been forced to perform femininity within a structure intent on control. Red Shoes aims to re-centre the narrative, and asks whether true freedom is achievable on either an individual or a societal level.

Diyala Muir further adds: 'The idea for ‘Red Shoes’ was initially conceived as a sequel to my previous film ‘Blue Hands,’ which ends with the protagonist lost in the woods. I wanted her to find her way home. During development of the narrative this evolved to become a spiritual sister film rather than a direct continuation, so where ‘Blue Hands’ was about inertia, ‘Red Shoes’ is about action and regeneration.

‘Red Shoes’ in its entirety is an allegory for the internal process of purging symptoms of a patriarchal, heteronormative society and defining your own feminine identity, through the process of reconnecting with your innate creativity. The ambiguous ending questions whether true freedom is achievable or should be celebrated when we are restricted to using the tools and language of the system itself. This film was animated digitally, each frame printed out and scanned back in again to give a unique texture, creating a layer to how the viewer perceives the film as it gives the impression of found footage on a VHS tape. The setting for this story exists in its own sphere: it is of no discernible time or place, and could be seen as pre-historic, post-apocalyptic or extra-terrestrial. '