Notts Filmmaker Gets Animated Short Featured by BBC

Words: George White
Thursday 16 December 2021
reading time: min, words

The film dives into the issue of misophonia, which has been described as being “allergic to sound”... 

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A filmmaker from Nottingham has had his animated short film, Misophonia, featured by the BBC. 

Daniel Smedley’s work forms part of BBC Arts’ New Creatives series, and dives into the condition of - you guessed it - misophonia, an extreme aversion to seemingly innocuous human noises such as chewing, sipping or heavy breathing. 

The three-minute film aims to highlight the issue, which Smedley has described as being “allergic to sound”, in “all its lip-smacking and crisp-munching glory”. 

Originally broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday 12 December, the success of the passion project is a source of pride for the Bilborough College graduate, with every detailed moment being painted at home. 

He said: “The animation was painstakingly painted frame by frame during lockdown so I was quite fortunate to have something productive to do and countless days to fill - although I dread to think just how many hours the project took in the end.”

The personal message behind the film is what made this such an important story to tell, he added. “I have always wanted to make a short about misophonia and this New Creatives commission was the perfect opportunity. It’s an inescapable and often torturous part of my life but I wanted to approach it with a sense of humour and create something which could be used as a tool to explain the condition and open up a conversation around it.

“It’s been great finally having the animation available for people to watch, especially being able to see it broadcast on TV. However, for me the best part has been hearing from people who can relate in some way or now have an understanding or awareness they didn’t have before.”  

Misophonia is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer

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