Restless Sleeper is about an alien who can’t fall asleep at night. She stays up playing video games until she suddenly hears a noise outside her window. Curious and impulsive, she leaps out into the darkness, leaving the safety of her home behind.
On her nocturnal adventure, she crosses paths with a peculiar pair of bullies, sings karaoke, dances with fairies, and rides through the star-filled sky on the back of a pajama-clad cat.
Restless Sleeper is a film about the challenges of growing up and the feeling of not quite belonging. It speaks to anyone who has struggled to sleep at night -and to everyone who has ever felt a bit like an alien.
7 min. Music by Erling Swedenmark.
The film was created in Blender, with all models and textures made by me. It began as my 2022 graduation project at Konstfack. Since then, I’ve reworked it into a fully updated 2025 version.
The 2022 version won the Best Student Film Award at the Rex Animation Festival.
The new version premiered at Pixel Film Festival 2025 and has since been screened at Uppsala Film Festival, PLX Tjärö, Ystad Comics Festival, and Malmö Seriefest.
It’s next screening will be at Liljevalchs Spring Exhibition 2026