While You Were Sleeping should not be confused with the ‘90s Sandra Bullock romantic comedy of the same name.

This project is a thought-provoking and poignant animated short film about the harsh reality of space travel.

Written and animated by Charlie Stewart, the short is set on Mars, where two A.I.s, Sandy (Kathy Curtis) and Al (Mark Cundill), awaken ready to take commands from their human clients.

But there is one major problem - the colonists have disappeared. Their disappearance is a mystery that will be resolved by the short’s conclusion.

With no humans to interact with, Al and Sandy can only offer each other standardized menus of service options neither can perform or complete, looping on a repeating cycle day after day.

With NASA, along with other government and private space agencies, planning to send humans to Mars one day, most of us recognize the tremendous technological, physiological, and environmental hurdles that must be overcome.

What this short film does brilliantly and poignantly - in just under three minutes - is to shine a light on the considerable loneliness space explorers would need to contend with - especially in relation to any proposed one-way trip to Mars.

Watch While You Were Sleeping here…

While You Were Sleeping is a haunting and affecting look at a stark reality of space travel we must acknowledge and come to terms with as we look to the stars for our future.

Experience our official podcast Eye On Sci-Fi. Join host and The 7th Matrix founder Rod T. Faulkner as he spotlights terrific indie SFF short films and web series.

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