Photo: Contributed

Kelowna's Cheyanna Kidd and Kurtis Peskleway, director and lead animators of the short film Like and Follow.

A young Kelowna couple is keeping busy producing an animated film that focuses on social issues related to technology in today's society.

Cheyanna Kidd and Kurtis Peskleway are creating the film 'Like and Follow' through the Youth Community Stories program from Reel Youth and TELUS STORYHIVE. 

Kidd, who is a student at the Kelowna Centre for Arts and Technology, describes the short film as a "beautiful and colourful tale" which explores the issue of technology addiction and follows the story of the Indigenous character Nuna and the androgynous Max.

For the film, the pair wanted to explore what real connections look like and technology's role in today's relationships, with a highlight on minority demographics such as the Indigenous and LGBTQ communities.

"First Nations are the foundation of our society," says Kidd. "They are the reason that we're able to come here and survive. For me that relationship is incredibly important not only to repair, but to make equal." 

Kidd also wanted to highlight androgynous aspects of the LGBTQ community.

"I am bisexual and in the LGBTQ community we often are overlooked from both the straight and the gay communities because in a way, we are both. We like more than one gender," she says. "It is incredibly important that the androgynous aspect of the LGBTQ community is seen."

The character Nuna, who is addicted to her cellphone, meets with Max who loses his cellphone to a raven, and together the characters go on a journey to find the cellphone while they are pulled away from technology on their journey. 

"We wanted to tell a story that demonstrates little ways of being able to bring yourself back into reality," says Kidd. 

The animation film also uses no dialogue. 

"We want the story to be told exclusively through the beautiful dance of visuals and an orchestrated musical piece that represents the emotion and personality of every character in our story," adds Kidd. "I hope that people find optimism, inclusiveness and that they see a piece of themselves in our film."

The animation film is currently still in the production phase but is set to be released later this fall through community screenings and online on the STORYHIVE Youtube Channel and TELUS Video on Demand.