Sarasota Ringling Students Create Viral Animated Same-Sex Short Film ‘In a Heartbeat’

Share the Love

The short film In a Heartbeat has taken the Internet by storm with a plot that is universal but particularly poignant to the LGBTQ+ community.

The animated four-minute film follows closeted junior high schooler Sherwin, who has a crush on another boy in his school.

When his heart literally pops out of his chest to pursue his crush, Sherwin must catch it before it reveals his crush—and his sexuality—to the entire school.

Beth David and Esteban Bravo originally created In a Heartbeat for their thesis project at Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.

While the original concept featured a love story between a boy and a girl, they say the idea really took flight once they decided to make it about two boys.

“We wanted to challenge the preconceived notion that LGBTQ content is not appropriate or suitable for younger audiences,” Bravo said to NBC News’ Kevin Truongs.

Both animators drew on their experiences being closeted at school as children to create the film.

While they did receive some negative attention for the film online, they say the good far outweighed the bad. Clearly, the film resonated with many viewers, as it was seen 2.4 million times in just its first day.

Watch the Short Film below.