BEYOND THE ONIROS FILM AWARDS®
VIP Interview with Christina Teenz Tan, co-director of the animated short ‘Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate’
by Alice Lussiana Parente
We had the great pleasure of interviewing Christina Teenz Tan, one of the directors of the animated short: Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate, recently awarded at the Oniros Film Awards. The movie is a touching story about the friendship between a young girl and Alan, a plush inanimate with a soul of a baby lion, that aspires to become independent by gaining artificial intelligence. It’s been fascinating to watch Al’s story unfold in the animation through music and paintings, but even more getting to know the scientific realm and research behind the script.
1. Hi, Christina! How did your career as a filmmaker and storyteller began?
My first project was the Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate! Our team feels that cinema can bring bold new ideas to the fore, and we hope to start a global conversation about the future of companionship enabled through AI. It has been a wonderful privilege to be a part of the musical team!
2. Where does the inspiration of “Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate” come from?
It comes from a passion for communicating otherwise scientific concepts such as the future artificial intelligence & robotics through familiar artforms such as music and animation. Discussions about the future of synthetic life should not purely exist in the realm of science labs but should be discussed in the artistic community as well. The integration of AI into our life will change the emotional landscape of human beings forever and this must be explored through the arts. Cinema and music can help to foster this discussion and help the world understand the way in which our society will evolve.
3. Which creators: musicians, directors, actors, etc. inspire you the most at the moment?
A current favorite is Jeremy Konner who recently directed Waffles and Mochi on Netflix!
4. You co-directed the movie with Susan Lim and Samudra Kajal Saikia. How was the experience for you? Which part did you love the most and which part did you find more challenging?
I absolutely loved the entire creative process from conceptualizing the storyline to the creation of our animation. There were very minor challenges with selecting details, elements, and styles for the animation but in the end our lead animator Samudra executed it brilliantly!
5. You are a doctor, scientist, playwright, lyricist and creative director. How do you manage all these different work positions in your life?
I really do love the creative process and believe that scientific pursuits and having an artistic, vivid imagination go hand in hand. There is no better way to tap into our scientific consciousness than through the medium of art, music and film. As our project continues to grow, I am fortunate to have the pleasure of working alongside many artists and musicians, some of whom are also doctors and scientists.
6. You are the co-creator of the concept behind the upcoming: Lim Fantasy & Alan the Musical. Can you tell us more about this project?
When we wrote this story, we originally had a musical in mind and have previously had our first staged reading at UCLA. This is still an ongoing project that we are thrilled about!
7. While watching the movie, some moments reminded us of the Lion King and Toy Story. Were the Disney animations part of your inspiration for this movie?
When we pivoted to animation recently, we drew inspiration from many styles of animations, including 2D/3D, hand drawn & motion graphics. It features vivid imagery of nature, landscapes as well as our unique characters.
Christina Teenz Tan co-director of ‘Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate’
8. Matthieu Eymard’s voice is truly remarkable. How did you work with him on the script? What did you want his voice to inspire in the audience?
He has been our project manager and has great understanding of our story, our underlying message and the themes that we wanted to communicate. Through his recordings and performances, we felt that he brilliantly portrayed the message, mood, and spirit of the project!
9. Who is Alan for you? Who do you hope the character will represent for the audience?
Alan is the main character who starts off as a plush toy and aspires to achieve independence & respect in society through gaining artificial intelligence!
10. What’s next for you? What are you working on at the moment?
We are proud to announce that we recently released our album Lim Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra. We are currently working on a fantastic new project titled “Cosmic Rhapsody” which explores the future of space travel and discusses the pressing issue of climate change.
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