Sundance Film Festival 2019 – Chichi
My dog had a dream and he told me about it. I made a movie about that dream. This is that movie.
Interview with Director David Nessl
Watch Chichi here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The idea of CHICHI came about back in 2014. I was tired of animal movies and TV shows perfectly suited for American audiences and I've always had a need to just blatantly create nonsensical stories that both excite and confuse people through laughter. During the pre-production stages of CHICHI, even comedies or comics that you expect truth from were becoming more and more censored and pc, so I was determined to be totally opposite in whatever I chose to create next. Originally CHICHI was meant to be much darker and full of dry cringe humor, but I noticed that my biggest fans were my young nieces so I wanted to make something that they might be able to watch as well. Also, the old man in the story is my Grandfather who passed away during pre-production, and I didn't want to have my strange animated film cause some kind of family controversy. CHICHI ended up being the best version of funny ideas inspired by my friends and family and of course their pets.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch CHICHI because it's an out-there alternative comedy with mock infomercials and situational humor. This film is also the product of my subconscious connection to my dog's brain and the script for the film was greatly influenced by the weird, disturbing things that my dog dreams about.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I want people to be able to watch CHICHI without having to know a specific language so I purposely disregarded dialogue and focused on odd sounds that are universally comical. The situations are personal and the entire short is designed after and influenced by the area in which I grew up adding to an overall theme of man vs the unknown, or animal vs the unknown. There’s an overall geriatric circle of life theme which resonates in the narrative and acts as a hint to the dark situations actually taking place behind the silly animation. I leave it up to viewers to make their own interpretations of what and why everything unfolds the way it does in the film.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
CHICHI is the second half of a larger script, being the finale to a more complex narrative centered around the dog's lives on the property where they live. Because of production constraints I chose to animate the second half of the script, because it worked better as a cohesive stand-alone short. Sequences also changed through animation previous by correcting timing and pacing, or removing bits that just didn't work or in the end weren't funny. I chose the animation style specifically so that assets could be simply changed through my pipeline to correspond with modifications in the script during production. All the sounds and interactions in CHICHI were improvised on the spot and that also changed the script, and definitely changed it for the better.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I would try and pinpoint a demographic that understands the comedy best but it's really all over the place. When CHICHI had its world premiere at Ottawa International Animation Festival 2018 I received a lot of positive critiques from artists around the world which was exciting and encouraging. It connected me with people in Iran, Poland and S. Africa and Australia so I felt like it's been more universally accepted than domestically. Some people that I show just don't understand and it makes me feel like I have a screw loose at times when I consider what I find funny as opposed to the mass majority of Americans. When my mother first watched the film, she couldn't stop laughing and it was a big moment for me because most of the time my mom doesn't know how to react to my work. When I screened my film for the first time for a student audience at the University of Southern California the entire theatre was laughing out loud at the nonsense taking place on screen and It was a very positive and amazing moment for me and my family. CHICHI has been nominated for a Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2019 so I’m very honored to be considered for an award as well as have CHICHI’s US Premiere at such a well-known festival.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think it's challenged my point of view because it's interesting to see what parts of the short people find funny and what doesn't work, causing me to tweak and polish what things are funny to me as opposed to the world.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'd like audiences to find common ground in the comedy of CHICHI regardless of their political affiliation, personal beliefs or who they are individually. This is a film that makes you think about your dog and the wack sh$% that all our pets do or did; the things that make us all laugh and cry at the end of a long day. I would also love to give other weird filmmakers hope and encourage them to continue being themselves by trusting in their own point of view and what they’re passionate about. I made a movie where aliens put an egg into my grandfather's dog’s asshole and it's funny and got into the Sundance Film Fest, so don't listen to the haters. "They hate us cause they ain't us." (Dave Skylark)
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I'm looking for producers, buyers, distributors and others interested in working together and distributing CHICHI around the world. CHICHI is the beginning of something strangely entertaining and I'd like to show people just how strange it can be.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope moments in CHICHI take people by surprise. The film shows an extraordinary night unfolding for the lead characters but you also see it from an outside perspective to highlight aspects of our lives that are just plain weird. As a director, I've always tried to emphasize the nonsensical aspects of our society by making everything satirical so that we can acknowledge just how stupidly complex some cultures and societies have become.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What kind of drugs was the filmmaker on when he decided to make CHICHI?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
At the moment I'm developing a live action mini series that utilizes state of the art motion capture technology. It's Cast Away meets Footloose.
Interview: January 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Chichi
My dog had a dream and he told me about it. I made a movie about that dream. This is that movie.
Length: 9:37
Director: David Nessl
Producer: David Nessl
Writer: CHICHI
About the writer, director and producer:
DAVID NESSL is a filmmaker and artist based in Los Angeles, California. His work is a mix of absurdity and nonfiction with a little twist of the paranormal. He is the founder of Cat Shirts United and spends a lot of time building things that don't make sense while also pretending to be various species of dinosaur in his spare time.
CHICHI is a Bosnian Duck Hound mixed with some kind of other dog to add the right amount of oddity to his already scraggly physique. He loves to run through the fields with his friends and chase after squirrels. He is very neurotic yet cuddly and is able to communicate his dreams to Director David Nessl through an unknown form of telepathy.
Key cast: David Nessl (The Lost Children of Ishtar's Farm Animals, Pup Pup, Old Woman), Jonathan Pat Gray (Squirrels), Maryyann Landlord (ChiChi, Peggy-Sue, Opossum in the tree)
Looking for: distributors, producers, buyers, film festival directors, journalists
Facebook: Chichi film
Instagram: @nesslart
Website: https://www.chichifilm.com
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
CHICHI will have its US Premier at the Sundance Film Festival 2019 and shortly after will screen at the Mammoth Film Festival 2019.