In this light-hearted animated short film from Aflac, The Park Bench, showcases the power in vulnerability and caring for others in times of unforeseen events.
The film depicts the story of a young Black girl who watches her father become ill with an aggressive diagnosis of sickle cell disease. Young and incapable of assisting, her parents shut her out from being exposed to the hardships of dealing with this disease. One day, she visits a park bench alone and then appears a duck with a fractured wing. She takes the duck into her home to care for it. During its healing stages, she finds comfort in assisting the duck and the two grow an immense bond between one another. The apparent affection between the two, is acknowledged by her mother, who herself, begins to embrace the duck and joins in the shared-bonding activities. Once the duck heals, the father also appears in a much greater condition to be back with his family again. Together, the family walks the duck back to the park. As he flies away, the family grows closer together after surviving the tragedy and celebrates a time that matters the most in crucial moments — recovery.
The Park Bench is written and directed by Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated writer Rob Edwards, who wrote The Princess and the Frog. Other contributing producers are Carl Reed of Lion Animation, the only black-owned animation studio in the U.S. and Grammy award-winning Nas, with musical direction.
The Park Bench is available to stream on Roku and Youtube.