Frame by Frame // A Dream-Inspired Stop Motion Animation Camp (ages 8 – 10)
Camp overview
Working with teaching artist and filmmaker Sahar Al-Sawaf, campers explore the magical connection between visual art, dreams, and stop motion animation. Inspired by the works of artists such as Pipilotti Rist, Marco Brambilla, Salvador Dali, and Kurosawa’s film Dreams, young creators will discover how imaginative ideas can come to life through movement, storytelling, and hands-on making.
Campers will experiment with stop motion animation using materials like clay, paper, fabric, and found objects, testing techniques such as pixelation, puppet animation, claymation, and paper cutouts. They’ll learn the fundamentals of planning animated shorts, including storyboarding, set and character development, and then work collaboratively to create their own dream-inspired moving artworks.
This camp nurtures creativity, problem-solving, and imaginative thinking. Campers are encouraged to take risks, experiment with new techniques, and develop confidence as they transform their ideas into animated stories. The week concludes with a showcase where campers share their finished films with friends and family, celebrating their creativity and hard work.
About the teaching artist
Sahar al-Sawaf (she/her) is an Iraqi-American filmmaker, visual artist, and photographer based in Oregon whose work explores the entanglements of war, memory, displacement, and cultural identity through a deeply personal lens. Her practice spans documentary filmmaking, hand-drawn animation, and analog photography—mediums she uses to amplify voices too often omitted from dominant narratives, particularly those of Arab women navigating the aftermath of conflict. Sahar has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East with her camera and sketchbook in hand, chronicling the lives of refugees who have fled. Her animated short films Uncle Ma’an, Um Abdullah, and Shadow of Paradise have screened at DOC NYC, the Chicago International Film Festival, Animafest Zagreb, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, Tricky Women/Tricky Realities (Austria), and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
