LUKi And The Lights

LUKi And The Lights is an OSCAR-qualified animated short film from director Toby Cochran. It’s a beautiful, charming and touching story about an active, upbeat robot who loves to play with his friends. However, suddenly, LUKi begins to malfunction — and the doctor diagnoses him with ALS, also known as motor neurone disease.

The film is a beautifully crafted narrative on ALS, explaining not only the devastating effects of it, but also the psychological impact it has on loved ones. ALS is an incurable disease which affects the nerves that control our muscles. Or in the case of LUKi, our lovable robot protagonist, the disease causes him to malfunction. The lights on his body begin to dim, and his mechanical parts start to stiffen and fault.

Watching LUKi suffer the physical and mental effects of ALS is a real tear-jerker. The film’s timeline show’s how quickly life changes. He goes from joyful, energetic robot, to broken and bed-bound. I particularly loved how the film’s score alters over the course of the story to reflect LUKi’s state.

Another key element that makes the film particularly moving is its visual storytelling. The animation has a minimalistic style, yet it's also deeply evocative. It wonderfully uses light and shadow to express the shifts in LUKi's emotional state -- especially in regard to the lights across his body.

I commend the creative team for creating a film with such a powerful emotional impact. At just shy of 11 minutes, it told a full, incredibly poignant story. Making it about robots rather than humans added a sense of surrealism, making it easily digestible; it's a film that all ages can grasp.

The story behind the creation of LUKi hits powerful, too. As told in the credits of the film, LUKi is a character created by a couple, Sasha Green and Anjo Snijders, when Anjo was diagnosed with ALS. In creating the character and telling a poignant story with him, it allowed their children to better understand what their father was going through. Knowing this story after watching the film made it hit that much harder. 

This is a film that'll continue to have a lasting impact on me. LUKi And The Lights: An ALS Story has qualified for the 97th Academy Awards. We wish it the best of luck!