Southeastern English instructor Alan Marsh has received an American Pixel Academy EMPixx award for his film “Rabbit Moon.”

“Rabbit Moon” is an 11-minute film written, directed and produced by Marsh. According to Marsh, the film, which contains both live action and animation, was created in order to teach 10-12 year olds compassion. He describes it as a children’s book that has been adapted for film.

“It’s not for an adult audience though I hope they could appreciate it,” Marsh said, when asked about the intended audience for the film.

According to Marsh, “Rabbit Moon” tells the story of a little girl who has suffered an injury and does not want to go to school. In an attempt to persuade her to go to school, her mother has her read a book called “Burnt Bunny.”

“‘Burnt Bunny’ is the animated part,” Marsh said. “The little girl opens the book and with her imagination, it becomes animated and that’s what we see.”

In the animated section of the film, “Burnt Bunny” describes the experience of a little girl who receives burns from her room catching on fire. After a trip to the hospital and back, the girl wants to see her pet rabbit, which she kept in the room with her. The girl’s mother knows it is not alive, but tries to find ways to make her daughter feel better.

After trying to buy her new rabbits, the mother takes the little girl to see her wise grandmother, who tells her that she will see the rabbit again, but she will not know when or where. Marsh did not want to spoil the ending, but he did say the story ends on a positive note.

“From [‘Burnt Bunny’], the other girl gets inspiration so she can go back to school,” Marsh said.

Marsh has created other films in addition to “Rabbit Moon.” He said that his reason for taking up filmmaking was his love for storytelling. His other films include “Presence Patrol,” “The Firefly Club” and “Wild Kingdom.”

“I like the art of filmmaking,” Marsh said. “I like to write and I like to engage it anyway I can.”

According to its Web site, the EMPixx award is given annually to honor excellence in five divisions of moving pixels. In addition to the EMPixx award, “Rabbit Moon” also received a Silver Remi at Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. More information about the EMPixx award can be found at www.empixxawards.org.

Students interested in watching the film can view it on www.teachertube.com by searching for “Rabbit Moon.” Marsh’s other works can be viewed on Teacher Tube or the Southeastern Channel.