23-second animation catapults young Winnipeg animator to online fame

Two teens outside a convenience storeplayfully fight over a baseball cap and a lollipop.

That 23 seconds of original animation, complete with a rom-com vibe, changed Winnipegger Xierra Cansino's world.

In 2022, Cansino, then 17, postedher animated short Sucker toYouTubeandTik Tok.

Views exploded.

"At first I was super, super shocked,"Cansino, now 19, recalled."When I saw the numbers, I didn't know what to do with myself."

Today, the animation has 8.2 million views on YouTube, and Cansino, a.k.a. XrayAlphaCharlie, has 901,000 followers.

Cansino, who started doing animation at age 14,has since created a music video forToronto indie rock band Good Kid. She is currently an animation student at Vancouver Film School.

Her evolution from teen animator to internet sensation is at the heart of a new micro-documentary by post-high Sisler Create students.

The video is the work of Gabriel Beso andBridget Clemente,both 18, and Markus Ramiscal, 19.The post-high school program trains students in the creative digital arts, including filmmaking.

Cansino also created an animated version of herself for the video project.

The short documentary was produced as part of CBC Manitoba's Project POV: Sisler Create, acontinuing video storytelling collaboration.

Meet the filmmakers

Gabriel Besohas been making films since he was in Grade 9, but he has been editing videos since he was 12. Filmmaking has led Gabriel to new friendships that inspire him to continue storytelling in new and creative ways.

Bridget Clemente is a Sisler High School graduate who wants to pursue a career in filmmaking and editing. Her passion for the film industry started a few years ago, progressing from editing YouTube videos to creating short films. In her free time, Bridget enjoys listening to music, dancing and playing with her two fat cats.

Markus Ramiscal is developing his skills in storytelling, filmmaking, editingand motion graphics, and plans to pursue a career in the creative industry in screenwriting.

More about Project POV: Sisler Create

CBC Manitoba's Project POV: SislerCreate, a storytelling collaboration that partners filmmaking students with CBCManitoba journalists to produce short documentaries, is in its second year. Past projects can be foundhere.

During fall 2023, CBC journalists taught storytelling to filmmaking studentsand led producing workshops over several weeks at theCreate program at Sisler High School.

The post-high school programfocuseson education and career pathways into the creative industries. Students can take courses in animation, film, game design, visual effects, graphic design and interactive digital media.