Photos of Panelists at the Southern Fried Film Festival hosted at the Ravenwood Meadery in Lowe Mill A&E.
Art has the power to illustrate emotions that can be the catalyst for empathy and change. On Sunday, June 7, 2026, UAH student artists and survivors took center stage in Huntsville, shedding light on a deeply complex and emotional global issue- international child abduction.
As part of the annual Southern Fried Film Festival, the community was invited to a special screening and panel discussion for "The Long Way Home: Animated Stories of International Child Abduction."
The Long Way Home is a collection of animated short films inspired by the real, lived experiences of youth and parent survivors of International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA).
Created by UAH students and alums in the animation program in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), the series bridges the gap between documentary and art. By pairing the authentic, recorded words of survivors with visually striking animation, the students have created an incredibly intimate look at the human cost of cross-border custody crises. The work was completed in the special topics course Animation for Social Change led by Associate Professor Vinny Argentina.
Argentina, on the coursework completed by his students, said,
“We were able to provide high-quality animation work for a good cause that would have been otherwise unaffordable, while also providing students real-world experience working with clients, meeting project requirements under tight timelines, and collaborating with classmates to create meaningful projects that use and help develop the animation and soft skills needed to be successful in their careers.”
Rather than viewing IPCA strictly through a legal lens, these shorts ask audiences to confront it as a deeply human experience—one defined by themes of separation, identity, loss, resilience, and ultimately, hope and healing.
This vital project was developed in partnership with the iSTAND Survivor Network, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering survivors and raising global awareness. The project itself grew from the personal journey of mother-and-daughter survivors Dr. Noelle Hunter and Maayimuna N'Diaye, whose lived experiences inspired this collaborative effort to give survivors a voice through public art.
Hunter says, “This project represents the next chapter in a long tradition of student engagement at UAH. From research and policy advocacy to direct engagement with lawmakers, students have consistently found innovative ways to confront the challenges of international parental child abduction. These animators have taken that commitment one step further by transforming survivor testimony into powerful works of art.”
For questions about UAH Animation or completed projects, please contact art@uah.edu.
Panelists Included: (from left to right): Josey Severance, Lilia Pierce, Allee Ballenger, Craig Adair, Alan Wright, Connor Howard, Sam Simms, and Elizaveta Artripe.
Screenings Included:
- Youth Animations
- Korea
- Cage of Birds
- Hard to Trust
- Believe Me
- Grow Up Fast
- Unicorn
Parent Survivor Animations:
- On Fire
- Walking Underwater
- Slingshot
