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Welcome to Cartoon Brew’s Spotlight series, focusing on animated shorts eligible for the 2027 Oscars. Films in this series have qualified through one of several paths, including winning an Oscar at a film festival, exhibiting in a play, or winning a Student Academy Award.
Today’s short story is by Paula Manelli. separatelyWritten by Spike Lee, Tim Jones, Jeff Leisawitz, and Lubabalo Mtati. Produced in partnership with Take Over NY and 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, the film features music direction by Black Coffee and costume design by Laduma Ngxokolo. It won Best in Show at SIGGRAPH 2026 and was nominated for an Oscar.
Against the background of apartheid in South Africa, separately It follows the forbidden friendship between two boys, as their life-saving actions test them, and as they confront the hatred that is tearing their world apart. Maneli utilizes the visual language of anti-apartheid woodcuts, combining harsh lines and angular shapes with harsh sunlight and shadows reminiscent of Nguni geometric patterns. The story, as seen through the eyes of a child, connects a close relationship with the political system that shaped it.
Cartoon Brew: What was it about this story or concept that connected with you and led you to direct the film?
Paula Manelli: I loved that the script had the potential to hold space for deep emotional exploration of these characters and to acknowledge the political and socio-cultural environment in which they existed. I believe that inside and outside are inextricably linked and that exploring one person’s reality can deepen our understanding of the other.
I knew I wanted to bring this supposed juxtaposition into stark relief by telling the story through the eyes of our child protagonist.
What did you learn from the experience of making this film, production-wise, filmmaking-wise, creatively, or thematically?
I did a lot of in-depth historical research ahead of production, and despite being born and raised in South Africa, I was heartbroken by how comprehensive the brutality of apartheid was. The public still does not fully understand how cruel these policies were. I also encountered anecdotal testimonies from black children during that period, which had quite an impact on me as well.
When it comes to filmmaking, being a first-time director meant that almost everything was a new lesson for me, and I had to absorb and process a lot on the fly. But we were very fortunate to have great support in the form of our animation production company, Colossal.
For example, I majored in illustration and am proud of my drawing skills and physical strength, but at first, I think I tried to make up for my lack of directing experience by taking on more technical work than necessary. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to realize that this wasn’t the most efficient use of my time. Learning how to loosen my control and trust in my ability to express ideas to collaborators through communication rather than execution was a huge turning point early on.
There were quite a few learning moments like that.
Can you explain how you developed your visual approach to film? Why did you choose this style and technique?
I started by looking at examples of live-action films shot in high-humidity conditions that recreated the feeling of a hot South African summer. So I knew I wanted hard lighting with sharp shadows that would convey the feeling of the afternoon sun shining directly on you.
From there, I felt there could be an opportunity to abstract the sharp shadows into geometric forms that could be reminiscent of Nguni geometric patterns. I really liked the idea of using light to suggest geography.
I knew that taking this approach to lighting meant that the figures themselves had to be fairly simple. There was a bit of an angle to the figure, but not enough to draw too much attention to itself or overwhelm the audience with a ‘hat on top of a hat’ so to speak.
The film utilizes the visual language of woodcuts used in anti-apartheid resistance. How has that historical connection influenced your approach to animation?
Visually, this meant there was a certain amount of softness to the animation that I wanted to avoid. We achieved this by using hard, angled brushes for background art whenever possible, and mostly animating in twos. I also tried to maintain some roughness in the character linework to simulate the limitations of the medium when depicting curved shapes.
But on a storytelling level, for me, the protest poster clearly demonstrated that it is possible to reflect real-life situations without having to compromise on beauty. And in fact, it has shown that beauty is an essential tool in giving your message the best chance of spreading as widely as possible.