FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Columbia, SC – June 9, 2026 Interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker Carol Higgins has received the award for Best Director – Musical/Dance Film from the Los Angeles Short Film Awards for her animated musical short film, Pointé de Couture.

A deconstruction of Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon, Pointé de Couture reimagines the Cinderella myth through the perspective of Rose, a dressmaker whose artistic labor is mistakenly credited to a mythical Fairy Godmother. Blending rotoscope animation, musical storytelling, satire, and autobiographical themes, the film explores authorship, artistic recognition, and the hidden labor behind transformation.

In its official review, the festival described the film as “a highly commendable, intellectually stimulating short film,” adding that “Carol Higgins set out with a clear, ambitious artistic goal and successfully achieved it.” The review also praised the project’s inventive structure, noting that “transforming this critique into a musical is a bold and commendable choice that adds a rich layer of thematic depth.”

The review further recognized the film’s distinctive hybrid aesthetic, calling the rotoscoped sequences “remarkably contemporary and artistically distinct,” while highlighting the film’s lyrical approach to storytelling and musical composition.

Higgins’ work combines filmmaking with costume design, music composition, visual art, and performance, forming part of a larger interdisciplinary body of work that now extends into educational curriculum development and companion film projects, including the recently announced Reprise I.

Pointé de Couture has previously received recognition from multiple international festivals, including awards for Best Animated Short (Student), Best Poster, and Best Composer in Short Film, as well as official selections in Paris, New York, and Manhattan screenings.