The Month Between April and May

A dandelion's in the wind, and a train's a-coming.

Project type: Animation
Project status: Post-Production
Director/Writer/Animator:Kai Tattersall
Composer/Producer: Myles Ortiz-Green
Producer: Swati Shetty
Creative Advisor: Mike Patterson

Email: [email protected]
Website: 2000blue.com
 
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Logline

A young nurse grapples to uncover the truth within an unconventional hospital train after her patient quietly disappears.

Synopsis

Having traveled from overseas for her new job, May, a floating nurse, begins employment aboard the expansive hospital train, named “The Dreamcatcher Express.” She hears murmurs throughout the carriages of a man who jumped overboard, but in the following month the whispers quiet down, and life is usual again… as usual as life aboard a train can be. Were it not for a constant rattle, as though the vibrations itself would break the room apart at any moment, those on board could almost forget that they reside within a train carriage. A month passes by, and May meets Thomas.

Thomas, a friend from May’s childhood, rides this train as a patient. The two reacquaint immediately, relieved to see a familiar face. But to her shock, the next morning, May finds that Thomas has jumped overboard.

What follows is an unraveling of truth for all that travel along the coastside tracks — the patients, the nurses, and the Dreamcatcher Express itself.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Kai Tattersall — Director/Writer/Animator
Kai Tattersall is a Japanese-English-American director and visual artist whose work blends live-action performance with stylized animation across film, immersive media, and installation. He has created films for streaming, theater, installations, VR, and IMAX which have been exhibited in Europe, Asia, and North America at festivals and galleries. Born on the Okinawan islands in Japan, Tattersall developed an early interest in 2D animation. Throughout his career, he collaborated with animation pioneer Mike Patterson, developing a rotoscope animation approach that integrates traditional techniques with novel digital tools. This approach led to projects for clients including Disney, Paramount, CNN, Hulu, and The Academy. Before commercial AI, Tattersall began incorporating open-source AI into his production workflow. This experimentation led to HEAVEN (2022), a hybrid live-action and animated project that premiered internationally and won Best Animated Short and Best Art Direction at the AI International Film Festival. Following the film’s completion, Tattersall established 2000blue, an animation studio focused on mixed-media animation dedicated to removing AI from all creative roles. Currently, 2000blue serves as the lead animation team for an undisclosed Tubi documentary, an independent feature and immersive experience for titled THE MONTH BETWEEN APRIL AND MAY, and a limited series, MIKO WAS HERE.

Myles Ortiz-Green — Composer/Producer:
Myles Ortiz-Green is a multidisciplinary artist, composer, and performer based in San Diego, California, whose work spans film, experimental performance, multimedia installation, and spatial audio. They perform regularly with the San Diego arts and community organization Future Is Color, and have collaborated with King Britt and Suzi Analogue at the TOPOS Music Festival at EMPAC, a performance later covered by The Wire review. Their work has been presented at Earl Gallery, Still/Moving, and Friedman Gallery, including performances exploring Black experimentalism and Afrofuturism alongside Joy Guidry. In 2025, they held a residency with Meyer Sound. Ortiz-Green pioneered the Beats by Dre “Inaugural Black Future Creator Program” in 2020 and 2021 as an in-house composer, with their film scores receiving selections and nominations from festivals including the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, San Francisco Short Festival, and the DGA Student Film Awards. Their film work has screened internationally, and earlier this year a new composition premiered with red fish blue fish under Steven Schick, with a forthcoming presentation at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. Ortiz-Green is a graduate of Tulane University, an alumnus of the POSSE scholarship program, and they are currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Music and Composition at the University of California San Diego under King Britt.

Swati Shetty — Producer/Actor
Swati Shetty is a Los Angeles-based producer and former studio executive. Founder of Samosa Stories, she produced the audience favorite Netflix romantic comedy Wedding Season, and Umrika, which won India’s first Sundance award in 2015 along with multiple international honors. She is currently developing the sequel to Slumdog Millionaire among other film and television projects. Prior to her career as an independent producer, Swati held senior executive roles at Netflix, Disney and Imagine Entertainment in leadership roles across strategy, business, and creative.

Mike Patterson — Creative Advisor
Michael Patterson is a director, designer and animation artist working in visual music and immersive design. His animated film Commuter, along with 7 Patterson + Reckinger music videos, are in The Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. He is currently a professor in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. After graduate studies at CalArts with artist Jules Engel, Mike was brought to the attention of record executives with his Student Academy Award-winning animated short Commuter. Employing his unmistakable drawing style, he began his career in music videos in 1985 by animating the epic MTV hit Take on Me for A-Ha. Teaming up with his wife Candace Reckinger, they directed a string of MTV hits that include, Suzanne Vega’s Luka, Sting’s Be Still My Beating Heart and Opposites Attract featuring Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat, which won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 1990. Their videos have received MTV, Billboard, MVPA, and American Music Awards.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].