Supernatural Assignment

Bogart - The Christmas Elf

When thinking about the supernatural, the average person would imagine ghosts, vampires, or other scary mystical beings. However, fairies, the Easter bunny and other positively imagined characters such as Santa and his elves are less often considered. For the past month my roommates and I have woken up each day with our elf on the shelf, Bogart, found in a new hilarious place around the house. Whether he is leaning over the toilet bowl after a rough night out with us or found next to, and blamed for, a mess around the house, his adventures have inspired my video “Bogart The Christmas Elf”. What does he get up to when we’re not around? It happens right under your nose, in plain sight, yet you never get the chance to see it.

My take on the concept of supernatural was from the perspective of a child, as the traditional elf on the shelf story is that he comes to life while they sleep as his job is to monitor the behaviour of the children leading up to Christmas day. Parents often get creative each night, typically portraying the elf as a mischievous creature who gets up to no good while he is unsupervised. Although my family never participated in this tradition when I was a child, joking around with Bogart and my roommates inspired this film. I wanted to portray the supernatural magic of what our little elves are up to when no one is watching.