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Est. Reading Time: 7 Minutes

MARK (M) Tell us a little about yourself - when did you become interested in film and filmmaking? And what made you particularly interested in animation?

CHRISTINA (C) I grew up in Marlborough, MA and like a lot of kids I watched a lot of cartoons. I think growing up watching television really inspired me to create my own stories. When I was 17 I was accepted into CSSSA for animation, which is a summer intensive program for high school students. I learned how to animate for the first time, and it inspired me to study animation in college.

M I like coming-of-age stories that tackle complex aspects of life so it was interesting to see your exploration of friendship, grief, loss and loneliness on screen. Please tell us a little about setting the narrative in the afterlife - how early did you make this choice in the process of developing and writing the story? And why were you interested in exploring friendship and loneliness within the context of death?

C The setting was always intended to be a cemetery, which inspired my script. Certain tombstones in New England from the 1600s-1800s have unique carved heads and symbols. I’ve been researching and actively going to graveyards with these specific tombstones for about 2 years now. I wanted to create a story around these specific tombstones because I found them to be interesting, but I didn’t intend the story to be about death.

The story is actually inspired by the pandemic - having to say goodbye to family and friends as well as being isolated and alone. Personally, I started to forget things I used to enjoy so when we were allowed to leave home after one year of lockdown, it was like entering a new world and re-remembering things that I liked to do. In the context of a graveyard when someone dies, family and friends usually visit a lot after the person just died but after a while people move on with their lives. I tried to mix both ideas and add the symbolism of the specific tombstones in the film. 

On Narration

M I think the narrator's innocent tone of voice plays an important role in shaping the film's heart-warming mood and atmosphere on screen. Please tell us about your casting process and crafting the film's narration with the actor.

C When it comes to voice acting, I try to find someone I know and who I feel comfortable giving direction to. Luckily I go to a school with an acting department that trains students in all aspects of acting including voice acting. I knew my friend Harry would be a perfect narrator for my film, and it didn’t take much practicing. I wanted him to just talk in his normal voice. I showed him the script and design of Maurice a couple of days before our recording session. I booked two hours for the recording booth and got everything done in 45 minutes. I knew what I wanted and we went line by line. I would tell him what Maurice was feeling for specific lines and he would nail it. When I’m in the recording room, I tend not to look at the actor and just look at the script so when he says the lines I try to imagine how it would look and sound in the film.

M And more generally, how did your narration change and grow over time - did you add, reshape or trim any lines in post-production?

C I did end up trimming the narration in post-production. When I recorded my narration, everything became final so I couldn't add anything to the script. I was only able to trim lines because I had a very strict deadline. This past year. I was lucky enough to be part of BFI Future Film Festival for my film Stolen (2021). The festival had a ‘script surgery’ session where we could have a one-on-one session with someone from the industry to help with our scripts. I showed the Lost Souls script and the mentor helped me figure out what I could trim to make the story stronger. I also showed the script to my close friends and family to see if the story made sense. The writing took up the most time in my film production. I think I ended up with 20 different drafts of Lost Souls.

‘…when we were allowed to leave home after one year of lockdown, it was like entering a new world and re-remembering things that I liked to do’

— Christina Giordano

On Inspiration

M What are some of the films and who are some of the filmmakers that inspire you, and why?

C Some of my favorite films and television shows are:

- Where the Wild Things Are (2009);
- The Dam Keeper (2014);
- Bojack Horseman (2014-2020);
- The Florida Project (2017);
- Summer Camp Island (2016);
- Adventure Time (2010-2018);
- Wolfwalkers (2020); and
- The House (2022).

What all these films have in common is that they talk about life and growing up. They also are groundbreaking films. They are different and unique, I love when I see films and television shows breaking rules and not following what’s popular during their time. Most of my inspiration comes from vintage children's books, kitschy antiques, folk art, fashion, music, and nature. I also love Mary Blair, Maurice Sendack and Mikey Please.

On The Future

M What are you planning to make next?

C I’m currently working on a new film. It’s about what people do inside their homes, shown by looking through windows. It will be released sometime in July or August. I also have a couple of ideas for more short films, so keep an eye out throughout the next year for a couple of more films from me!

M You mentioned Stolen earlier which is a really wonderful film! I’ve noticed that you like to incorporate a lot of characters within your films - it’s very prevalent in Stolen, the ending sequence in Lost Souls introduces new characters and the concept of your new project sounds like it might similarly explore several characters. This may be tough to answer in certain respects but I was wondering, where do you think your instinct and inspiration to include a myriad of characters and faces within your work comes from?

C My inspiration comes from how many different people are in this world. I try to add many different characters because I want everyone to feel seen. In Lost Souls, Maurice is all alone or that's at least what he thinks. It's an interesting feeling when you feel like you’re the only one in this world but then remember how many people around you may be feeling the same way. In a city, there are so many people around you but it can still feel isolating so I want to represent everyone and show how many people are probably feeling the same way. I also love character design, and developing different characters in different situations helps me grow as an artist.

Mark’s Final Thoughts

• Interesting to learn about the relative ease of Christina's narration process. I guess it ultimately highlights the benefits of casting well - Christina had a clear vision of the lead character and secured her preferred actor for the role. The importance of the relationship between casting and directing has been discussed by many filmmakers - Martin Scorsese stated that casting is '85 to 90 percent of the picture'. Although Scorsese directs live-action films, I assume this is equally true for animated films.

• I also think the narration works well due to the sincerity of Christina's writing. The majority of films on our platform don't usually include a lot of dialogue or exposition as I tend to prioritize visuals over text. And I'm sure that living in a pandemic has influenced my connection to certain parts of the narration. Nonetheless, I was moved by lines such as ‘I march further away from the existence of who I was’ and ‘I think I may have been forgetting some things about myself’.

• I really like the fact that she incorporates so many characters and portraits within her films. A lot more characters are featured within Stolen due to the expansive nature of its story. Christina reflects upon an unfortunate event that occurred in her personal life through a somewhat hopeful and wishful lens - click here to watch it.

  Tags Animation Bourgeon Death Drama Landscape Narration
  

Want to Learn More? Click here for insight into Christina’s process of designing the film’s baroque colour palette.

The founder of Hommage, Mark Shaba published this interview on 14.07.2022. Mark is a filmmaker from Victoria, Australia. He respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners of the land on which he creates, promotes and screens art, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation who are the custodians.