“Lutalica,” a short film by Nate Stevenson, UWM film animation and new genres major, was accepted to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, May 12-13.

“It was crazy,” Stevenson said of the news. “It was a very surreal feeling.”

The film will be shown both days of the festival in the “short film corner” category. The film features no dialogue, and is instead driven by visuals and a “complex soundscape” created by Stevenson’s brother, Christian.

The title “Lutalica” comes from an online dictionary of invented words, and is roughly defined as the part of a person’s identity that doesn’t fit into categories. Stevenson said this is an overarching theme of the film, with a plot centered on a man going through various stages of depression.

The film, which took just under a year to make, was Stevenson’s senior project and the first time his work was accepted to a film festival.

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