Created by Abbey Molyneux
A CLOSER LOOK: VIDEOGRAPHIC CRITICISM 2025 – Young video essayists comment on popular audio-visual culture. Produced as part of the BA (Hons) Film and Television degree at Southampton Solent University and brought to you by Making Waves Film Festival.
Pixar’s Bao (2018) might only run for a few minutes, but it tells a layered and emotionally resonant story—without a single line of dialogue. This video essay explores how the short film communicates themes of parenthood, love, and letting go using visual storytelling, metaphor, and carefully crafted animation.
At the heart of Bao is a mother who gets a second chance at raising a child—represented by a living steamed bun. What begins as whimsical slowly unfolds into something much more profound, offering a quiet but powerful reflection on the experience of watching a child grow up and move away.
The video essay looks at how silence allows the emotional beats to land more deeply, inviting viewers to interpret and feel their way through the story. It also touches on how the film’s stylised visuals, pacing, and use of domestic space work together to express things that words can’t.
As part of A Closer Look, this essay shows how Bao uses its short form to its advantage, telling a complete, emotionally rich story with remarkable economy and grace.
This essay is part of A Closer Look, a series of video essays created in collaboration with Southampton Solent University and hosted by Making Waves Film Festival. Each one offers a thoughtful perspective on a piece of moving image culture, seen through the lens of emerging critical voices.
