Flickerfest 2019 – ZOUA
When the imagination of children comes to life, a young boy goes on an adventure to escape a deserted island surrounded by hungry piranhas.
Interview with Director/Actor Nicolas Wendl
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Tiziana Giammarino, the founder of Artistes-Pour-Rever and writer of Zoua, approached me with the project after she came back from the children’s workshop she created in Switzerland, and asked me if I wanted to direct this project and help make it a reality. She told me all the kids come from a Swiss cancer support organization, and that she wanted to encourage them to embrace their imagination and creativity. She helped them enter a more magical world by enabling them to create their own story and characters. It touched me right away and I knew this was something I wanted to help work on with her, and bring it to life for the kids to see on the big screen.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch this film because every element, every character, every idea truly stems from the imagination of these kids. It is an unfiltered, honest and innocent form of storytelling that will touch anyone who watches it. Knowing what these kids are battling, and see the story and characters they have created is instantly heartwarming and reminds us that no matter what, we are all creative and we all have the ability to share stories that can touch many and inspire all.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film touches on many different themes and aspects that I think will resonate with anyone watching it. Zoua is a story of hope, of not giving up, of wanting to belong, of overcoming loneliness and isolation. While the story stems from the purest form of childhood innocence and their imagination, the overarching themes span far beyond the minds that created them. When have we not felt alone, when have we not had the desire to be a part of something greater? Zoua at its core is a story of hope and crafting your journey.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script is pretty much 100% true to what the kids in the workshop created. Tiziana Giammarino and the group of kids sat down in a room together and started writing down ideas and story elements and sketching the characters and from that came the script. The film has very little dialogue, and we incorporated a narration in order to give the film a storybook aspect and make it more understandable for the younger audience, but overall Zoua is very much a visual journey that stayed true to what it's young creators came up with.
The design of the characters have evolved a little bit from their initial sketches as they had to be integrated into the animation software in order to work better when animated, but the colors and the characteristics of each protagonist is true to what the kids wanted to tell from a story and visual standpoint.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far, the feedback has been very positive. People have been touched by the origin of the project and the initiative to give these kids who are battling diseases, a chance to express themselves and share their ideas and stories with a wider audience. We've had screenings at festivals were kids have been entertained by the visuals, and wanted to see more of the story and the characters, a seven minute short wasn't long enough for them, they wanted more of Zoua. It's heartwarming to see how universal the themes really are when even such a young audience is able to connect with the material the way our audiences have so far.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think our only real surprise so far is that certain kids expressed the desire for the film to be longer. We initially set out for it to be a short, never thinking it might actually be something that a younger audience would want to see more of, in potentially a feature length form.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We hope to reach an even wider audience, and have Zoua entertain and bring joy to children across the world. We want to inspire others to give young voices chance to express themselves and trust in their ideas and visions no matter what age. Art is universal and has no limits, and that's what we really wanted to showcase with Zoua.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I think getting our film in front of the right film festival directors for starters would be great because that would give the film a chance to travel the world in the festival circuit, and then eventually we would love for it to find a home with a buyer or distributer and live on a platform where children and their parents can easily access it and be inspired to create too.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I think deep down we want this to serve as a catalyst, an inspiration to children of all ages, background or health conditions, and give them the strength to keep going, to keep creating and to not be afraid to express themselves in whatever art form they feel inclined to.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Did you know that the writers/creators of this film are 6-8 year old children who are battling cancer? We want people to know who's story this is and what the underlying message and tone is of Zoua. When people know where the story comes from they realize what the imagery means and how profound this film is, which never ceased to give me and Tiziana goosebumps.
Would you like to add anything else?
I guess just thank you, thank you for helping us express our journey with Zoua so far, and for helping us spread the message of the film and its young creators who are the real heroes of this whole project.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now Tiziana Giammarino and I are working on a feature film together as well as a few short films, one of which Tiziana is hoping to get produced this year. I'm also directing several music videos at the moment with some up and coming artist in the Los Angeles area.
Interview: February 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
ZOUA
When the imagination of children comes to life, a young boy goes on an adventure to escape a deserted island surrounded by hungry piranhas.
Length: 7:12
Director: Nicolas Wendl
Producer: Tiziana Giammarino
Writer: Tiziana Giammarino
About the writer, director and producer:
Born and raised in Germany and France, NICOLAS WENDL is an award-winning director who now lives in Los Angeles and directs short form narrative, music videos and is working on two feature films.
Born in Switzerland, TIZIANA GIAMMARINO has written award nominated films, and is currently developing several shorts as well as writing her first feature film.
Key cast: Richard Burgi (Narrator), Nicolas Wendl (voice of Zoua), Stéphanie Gerard (Voice of Clody)
Looking for: buyers, distributors, film festival directors
Facebook: Artiste Pour Rever
Twitter: @NicolasWendl
Instagram: @artistes_pour_rever
Website: www.wendlwood.com
Other: IMDB
Made in association with: WendlWood Productions, Switch Animation Studios, ASI Studios, AJAFEC
Funders: Self-funded and The Film Collaborative
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? At the moment we are waiting to hear back from some big film festivals but we encourage people keep checking our social media pages for updates on where to see Zoua next!