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Director Nina Kojima’s latest award-winning short film 'Three Little Hearts' has been released on Amazon Prime following its successful film festival run, garnering multiple awards.

'Three Little Hearts' tells the story of three young girls who experience discrimination based on their race, and the film attempts to raise awareness of racism in society, with a thought provoking story that educates people about the subject.

Winning in 6 categories at the IMDB Independent Shorts Awards including Best Children Short, Best Fantasy Short, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Acting Ensemble and Best Original Story, the film received praise for addressing the important issue of race discrimination - prevalent in today’s society and a problem affecting many people of all ages.

Set in modern day London, the short film follows two groups of alien children; one white and the other, multiethnic, as they arrive on Earth - with each child needing a heart, which can only be given by a man who has lived as a custodian for centuries. However, he is almost at the end of his mission and he can only award hearts to one of the groups, with both of them having very different experiences while on Earth.

In the storyline, we can see how the group of multiethnic girls are treated: firstly they are bullied, then shot at with a gun. Later in the film they are treated unfairly by a shop assistant, unlike the caucasian girls, and accused of stealing. And finally, run over by a car. Just before they are switched off mechanically for good, one of the girls asks the question: “Why do you think they didn’t like us on this planet?” And the tragic part to the story, is what one of the other girls thinks is the real reason for why they were not liked.

© Three Little Hearts

The film contains a number of meaningful symbols. The first symbol is the British post box. Viewers might expect that the alien children jump out from a space ship, or a mystical cloud perhaps, or are carried in the old fashioned way by a stork. But this story differs. They jump out of a British post box. The post box is usually where we put letters and cards to send people a message. However, director Nina Kojima takes the viewer on a different path at the beginning of this film with its own message.

Another symbol that becomes apparent is how the shop assistant who treats the multiethnic girls unfairly has a French accent. This represents how people of different ethnicities can experience racism in all parts of the world and by many cultures. The final symbol is the clothes the characters are wearing to show an oppressive system. The man who is dressed in a Victorian costume and appears later on dressed as a policeman from the Victorian times symbolises that not much has changed since the 19th century. It was in 1833 when slavery was officially abolished by the British government and yet racism is still a big issue today.

The multiethnic group of alien children are dressed in outfits which were once the uniform of communist states with one party systems, while the group of caucasian children are dressed in school uniforms, which still exist today. The school uniforms they are wearing in the film belongs to the school where an incident of racist abuse and inequality took place, which inspired the director to write the story.

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Kojima wrote the story as a form of protest following an incident which happened in one of the Central London schools in 2018, where two talented girls, one of African ethnicity and the other, of Indian ethnicity, were given the role of chimney sweepers at the Mary Poppins Form 6 Leavers play. This incident damaged one of the girl’s confidence to a degree that she did not want to return to school - therefore her parents had to find an alternative school for her in another country, according to the film’s director. And it was there where the young girl spent the last term of her primary school experience, which was meant to be exciting, memorable, and rewarding. It has been two years since the degrading incident, with no form of apology given to either girl or their families, Kojima can confirm.

Director and writer Nina Kojima, speaking with Film Industry Network says: “Films can be a strong and powerful weapon which can help fight racism. As far as re-writing history goes, we are powerless. However, we have the power to decide what to do with it. We have the power to learn from the past, and emerge as a united society, for the good of the next future generations. Racism is not only a problem in the USA and the UK, but in many places around the world. The structure of the film goes from one accusation to another, leading to horrifying actions towards the multiethnic group of aliens. So, they can be killed by a gun, run over by a car and accused of being thieves, not in a parallel Universe but at a place we know, all in one day!”

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To discover more about Nina Kojima’s latest short film, watch it on Amazon Prime or visit the director’s official website for more information.

Have you been subjected to racial discrimination in the film industry? Share your experiences with us: @filminetworkUK