Girl in the Hallway

Canada  | 2018 |  11 minutes |  Director: Valerie Barnhart 

Why does 'Little Red Riding Hood' give Jamie nightmares? It's been 15 years, and the girl in the hallway haunts him still. This is a testament to locked doors. A lullaby sung by wolves with duct tape and polaroids. Not all girls make it out of the forest. Some stories children shouldn't hear

Valerie Barnhart is an independent animator and visual artist based out of Ottawa, Canada. Her interdisciplinary practice is exploratory in nature but revolves specifically around the dynamics of silence and inaction as a form of violence. Valerie's background in book arts, and photography lead her to study at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design with a major in Visual Arts: a studio specialty in Printmaking and Drawing and an academic emphasis in Decolonization Politics and Non Western Art. In Valerie's 3rd year, she was sent on exchange to Willem deKooning Academie Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. There she explored stone lithography, architecture, and trend watching. Upon completion of her degree, Valerie exhibited in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Lima. Her art practice made a massive shift into documentary and animation entirely by accident. Girl in the Hallway is Valerie's very first animation. She taught herself how to animate during this three year production. She lives with her husband, her 2 dogs, and 2 cats amongst piles of dusty books, blooming cacti, and hot tea.