“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”Arthur C. Clarke
The People Of Calypso
“Space Boy”
A bullied teenager whose boyfriend Jesse committed suicide last year. When he’s abducted by aliens, he’s given 144 days to prevent the world from being destroyed. But he’s not sure he wants to. He’ll go on a journey to find out if his world is actually worth saving.
Loyal until the end — unless he feels betrayed
A seventeen-year-old way beyond his years with a dark past, who has learned to curb his violent impulses into painting. He likes Henry and wants to show him the beauty in the world. He’s loyal until the end — unless he feels betrayed, something Henry learns the hard way.
In public he ridicules him. In private he doesn’t.
A misunderstood kid who has it all. He ridicules Henry in public and makes out with him in private because he is actually in love with him. He’s a quick fix for Henry’s loneliness, but he could never be the real thing. He’s too far away from being himself.
She lost Jesse too
Henry’s best friend, who also lost Jesse. She’s a badass who has earned respect at school for her attitude and style. They hold secrets from each other before they learn they can help each other heal.
Compassionate and complex
Henry’s mom is a compassionate and complex woman. Always focused on both of her sons, she steers them in the right direction even if she didn’t always make such good decisions herself. She will need to help Henry see that the world is a beautiful place.
The heart of this family
Even while battling dementia, she’s still the heart of this family.
The aliens are shadows that take form from the darkness at the edges of the room. They illuminate only what is needed, revealing little about their shape or scale — which can change quickly, from Henry’s size to towering over him in a blink. They take on different organic, abstracted humanoid forms. Because they hide in their constructed darkness, we learn about them slowly.
The Edge Of The Universe
An otherworldly setting that truly feels like it’s on the edge of the universe. Day seamlessly, continuously blends into night, and there’s an anachronistic feel to the town — like you can’t put your finger on exactly where or when this is.
Eleanor keeps a respectable home for her two boys. A bit dated, but in a good way.
The war zone.
The sky does things here that it does nowhere else.
Shadow & Light
Graphic but organic.
Heightened But Real
Disparate palettes representing each character — as well as Henry’s altered states of mind.
Beautiful in subtle ways, as Henry searches for good in the world…
…and then more overt, as he finds love.
Intentional. Every frame designed, nothing accidental.
We are inside Henry’s perception, not outside it.
Different Ways The World Could End
Cut-paper sequences that give us a visual representation of what Henry writes in his journal.
The Novel
“Hutchinson has crafted an unflinching portrait of the pain and confusion of young love and loss.”
Publishers Weekly · starred review“Hints of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five… Highly recommended.”
School Library Journal · starred review“Unfailingly dramatic and crackling with characters who become real upon the page.”
Booklist · starred reviewUpon the recommendation of a friend who teaches high school, I read We Are The Ants. Just like his students, I was completely captivated. I read it in one sitting. My work has always explored the intersection of the family that we are born into and the family that we create. In Ants, the main journey Henry goes on is learning to find resolve with his biological family as he forms a bond with Diego.
So thematically, the book instantly appealed to me, but it is so much more than just family drama. Henry’s writings as well as the abductions he experiences drew me in because they so brilliantly represent the confused and imaginative nature of his mind. They create a unique and visual way of showing that he is struggling with suicidal thoughts after the death of his first love Jesse. It’s a new way of asking the existential question of what makes life worth living.
The book also balances a fantastic metaphor that becomes Henry’s coping mechanism. All these ingredients serve to make Henry strangely relatable to anyone, especially those who have survived severe trauma.
What is most beautiful about Ants is that we see Henry navigate this extreme darkness and circle back to hope. Similarly, Diego’s paintings offer us a glimpse into the workings of a talented teenage mind. As a writer, director, and production designer, I was drawn into showing these two budding artists, and infusing that beauty into the film.
Ants is a poignant story about finding partnership and choosing love over fear and resignation, and it will be a gorgeous film to look at — as if we are seeing the world through Henry and Diego’s eyes. And though they both may seem dark on the surface, the way they see the world is beautiful.
Themes of love lost, suicide, bullying, fitting in, learning to trust, and believing in the beauty in the world even at one’s darkest times dominate this universal story and are central to every scene. I want to make this film to show people that love can be lost, but also found, and that you must learn to forgive and embrace yourself before you can find a complete life and learn to find happiness again.
Author’s Statement
I’ve published eleven books, and We Are the Ants has sold more than all of them combined. Every day, I get emails and letters from fans of Henry’s story, thanking me for making them feel seen.
Sometimes they feel seen because of the queer representation in the story, sometimes by the honest portrayal of depression, but most often they feel seen because, like Henry, they sometimes wonder if the world is worth saving.
144 Days