Before Dawn

On a cold, damp morning, two weasels wander through the quiet, deserted streets of a sleeping city. The atmosphere is heavy with stillness as the pair navigates the empty urban landscape together. During their journey, the two animals become separated from one another, briefly losing each other in the silent surroundings. However, their time apart is short-lived, and they soon manage to find each other again, reuniting in the hushed environment before the day begins. Just as the weasels come back together, the profound silence of the city is suddenly broken. Bells and alarms begin to ring out across the area, echoing through the streets and signaling a dramatic shift in the atmosphere. As the sounds fill the air, dawn finally arrives, breaking over the city and bringing an end to the cold, dark morning that had enveloped the two wandering creatures. Before Dawn is an animated short film completed in 2022 as a graduate work at the Tokyo University of the Arts. It was produced within the Graduate School of Film and New Media, specifically under the Department of Animation.