WISHFEATHER, 3min., Australia
Directed by Ying Lei Zhang
A dancer wishes to soar beyond her eternal cage. But the key can only be found from deep within herself.

https://www.instagram.com/kila_ima/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

My drive to create this kind of story came from a time when I felt really trapped mentally with no way out. So that became the driving force behind Wishfeather. To create a story with a problem that can’t be solved. But of course, I wanted the story to be a hopeful message at the same time. Because after all, I’m still here and I’ve managed to experience a lot of awesome things since. It eventually hit me that while I don’t have the power to solve the issue, I can always choose how I react to it. So I started to believe that my dreams are possible and that led me to actively work towards them. Even though I sink back to dark places sometimes, I’m still able to find a lot of joy around me.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

If I don’t include the initial 6 months I spent brainstorming and meandering around with a sci-fi surreal idea I had prior, then making Wishfeather took 6 months from its solid idea to finish.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Metaphorically beautiful!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

It was definitely the ideation phase. When I embarked to create a film in the new year, I spent a long 6 months meandering around with a sci-fi surreal story. I still wanted a dance in that story which is what you see in Wishfeather at the start. But when reality hit me that I had spent half a year(!) still not feeling satisfied with my story,

I had to make the tough choice to put all that work aside and ask myself honestly, ‘If I could create anything right now, what would it be?’ And from there, Wishfeather really began to take shape. All the sci-fi stuff was removed. And to make up for lost time, I relied on a few shortcuts I know in animation, reducing the background to only sky, only having a single human character, and making sure the birds never have to tuck their wings (as that requires a bit more work to make!)

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was smiling the whole time! It’s my first time to hear an audience outside of peers respond to my film. I loved hearing their interpretations and it gives me more motivation to pursue this direction of storytelling.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

Sometime back in high school. I got obsessed with imagining my own
characters and I would write a super long cringey story of them going
on crazy fantasy adventures! It didn’t immediately hit me that I wanted to make films. I think the way I was imagining things were already in a ‘film/animation’ format. Like a sequence of events. Because film/animation was pretty much the perfect medium to show these events, I naturally wanted to dive into it just to bring those worlds to life.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

I assume this means films I’ve rewatched a couple times. In film, it would be Matilda (1996) and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001). In animation, it would be Princess Mononoke (1997) and Coraline (2009).

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Honestly, this festival is incredibly jam-packed and it’s been wonderful to read all the options. I think for me personally, 1-1 consultation with a professional director about career would be lovely. It’d give online festival participants like myself a chance to network a bit by having that brief live chat with someone.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Smooth sailing!

10. What is your favorite meal?

Sweet stuff! I love red velvet cake.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Yup! I’m brainstorming another shortfilm as well as writing a script
for an animated feature idea.