What's the true meaning of Christmas? More Stuff! We commissioned musical comedian Ben Champion to write and produce a festive song to parody an animated musical.

Interview with Director Simone Giampaolo

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Every year our studio (bluezoo animation) encourages the artists to come up with an idea for a festive short to wish our clients and families Merry Xmas. Joe Kinch and I pitched an idea for a Christmas musical parody in which the elves become fed up of consumerism, rip off all their clothes and run naked in the tundra! Our colleagues and supervisors liked it and that's how 'More Stuff' was born.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

First of all, to have a good laugh!

Secondly, 'More Stuff' carries a message about the overwhelming consumerism during the festive season, encouraging the audience not to buy more and more stuff.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Since I started making animation, I've always been trying to create short stories with a positive moral. There are several themes I'm particularly concerned about: the protection of the environment, racism, our modern society...

With 'More Stuff' we tried to create something humorous which could entertain the viewers while teaching them that buying too much stuff is bad for ourselves and for the planet.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

Being a musical, the script and storyboard evolved around the song and its lyrics, which were written and composed by comedian Ben Champion. The music stayed almost the same from the beginning to the end, and so did the storyboard and animatic. With only 8 weeks of production time before the release, we didn't have much time for experimenting with the narrative.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The feedback has been very positive, in general people have been finding 'More Stuff' very funny. People at BBC saw it and liked it so much that they asked us to make a 30 minutes Xmas special for their channel!

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We weren't expecting such positive feedback, and the fact that 'More Stuff' has been accepted to many international film festival really surprised us. This of course set the bar quite high and challenged me and the whole studio to make even greater shorts in the future.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Of course visibility means more job/collaboration opportunities, which are essential for our studio. In the past months we've already been approached by potential clients from the USA who saw the film online or at festivals and decided to get in touch with blue-zoo.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

It's always great when festival directors get in touch to encourage you to submit your film to their event. So far I've been taking care of the distribution myself and has worked just fine.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We aimed to produce a high quality 2 minute short which could become viral online, in order to make as many viewers as possible both laugh and think at the same time. Considering the recognition 'More Stuff' is receiving, I believed we succeeded in our goal.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Is buying presents the true meaning of Christmas?

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

At the moment the studio is working on the trailer of our very first feature animated film: 'Monkey'. Busy times ahead!

Interview: April 2017

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. 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

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More Stuff

What's the true meaning of Christmas? More Stuff! We commissioned musical comedian Ben Champion to write and produce a festive song to parody an animated musical.

Length: 2minutes 9 seconds

Director: Simone Giampaolo, Joe Kinch

Producer: Tom Box

Writer: Ben Champion