My Dog Tulip
Directed by Paul Fierlinger, Independent, USA
A story of a man’s relationship with his German shepherd.

The Illusionist
Directed by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville), Django Films, Great Britain/ France
An ageing illustionist’s life changes when he meets a young girl.

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Lion
Directed by Alois Di Leo, NFTS, Great Britain
Max is a 7-year-old deaf boy growing up in the 1960s. One day he goes on a school trip to the zoo where he sees a lion for the first time. A feeling begins to grow inside him that will change his life forever.

I had the opportunity to attend Internationale Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart in Germany with ‘Hush Baby’. Upon Sophie’s suggestion to visit Paris as well, it turned out to be an amazing journey!

Whee!

I arrived at Stuttgart airport, took a train to Stuttgart HBF and realised from a disinterested information assistant that this wasn’t the location to ride the coach to Paris. I jumped on a train to Obertuerkheim station and found a friendly staff at a hotel who pointed me to the correct pickup location. I am horrible with directions but thank goodness nice people are always around. I made a big blunder on my way back to Stuttgart though, hee.

One of the shooting locations for Amelie.

First breakfast in Paris on a rainy morning.

Sophie with nutella tiramisu, note the bliss.

Spice shop filled with hundreds of mix, preserved meats, jams, nuts, sweets. It should be a very colourful picture with lots of details. Would love to shoot this place again.

Home-made dinner with Sophie! Comfortable and memorable.

Posters plastered on the wall of subway station.

Dusty, old, creaking book store we found. Like.

Sophie has a fantastic apartment with a corridor that I like! I remember tiptoeing across the wooden floor every morning to this kitchen, trying not to wake her up with my incessant shuffling.

Apparently bachelor and bachelorette parties involve dressing-up and dare challenges with friends in public. These are two separate gangs.

Duck confit. Meat just fell off its bone. Yum-my.

These signs are pretty much everywhere but I don’t know why I keep clicking at them. They are nice, don’t you think?

I haven’t seen Viet Tu in a long time; it was a pleasant coffee chat plus the fantastic weather!

Lourve at night looks mysterious and grand. Too bad the fountain square shuts its gate before 9pm.

Commuters have to unlock their own doors to alight, instead of automatic doors which some have.

After 4 fun days in Paris, I took a coach back to Stuttgart HBF. Well, the bus goes to Stuttgart HBF but in my drowsy stupor I jumped off at the wrong HBF. HBF is short for Hauptbahnhof, German, which means ‘main or central station’, and of course I alighted at the wrong HBF… So, I took a train ride back to Stuttgart HBF, and blew some euros unnecessarily. This is my cosy hostel which the festival placed me!

Dustin, Joseph and Javier (out of screen), three very talented directors.

VERY elated to see Hannes, Melanie and Dave at the event! FMX is happening alongside ITFS, so there’s lots of screenings, workshops and talks to catch. Watched lots of films and talked a lot. I haven’t spoken so much English since I worked in Tokyo.

Festival garden with a free outdoor screening. Very cool.

There’s a weekend flea market on my way to the festival. Selling really old-looking comic books, army bags, clothes, coins, accordions, records, toys…

Because Japan is 7 hours ahead of Germany and in order to be at work on Monday, I missed the last day of the festival and the award ceremony :-( thus I didn’t manage to say goodbye to a lot of people. Hi there, if I met you at the festival, please stay in touch!

And I am back in Tokyo, what a wonderful journey. Thanks Sophie!
Below is a ‘Please do again’ poster series encouraging commuter etiquette. Previously there was a ‘Please do it at home’ posters of the same style showing lady putting makeup, drunk salaryman on the train etc. Omoshiroi..

These pictures were taken along the Meguro river on my daily cycle to work. This year’s sakura trees started flowering around the last week of March and its best viewing period is around first two weeks of April. And it’s so nice to have sakura trees just right outside my house.

I am late in posting these pictures. The flowers are mostly gone now and the greens are out!

I was in Tokyo for Siggraph Asia 09 meeting last week and just got back yesterday. I am volunteering for Siggraph Asia 2010 as Student Volunteers Chair and I am happy to say that it is happening in Seoul Korea next December!

Pictures!

Some good news while I was away!

‘Hush Baby’ is given the Voice Award at this 5th Singapore Short Film Festival! I was told that it has garnered the most number of votes despite my baby’s annoying cries, for a Singapore Short. Thank you to everyone who attended the screening and I am extremely honoured.

There is a free screening of Singapore Short Animations, part of the Animation Nation Festival, this Saturday, Oct 10, 4pm at the Esplanade Library.
Check out the full film list here: http://www.sfs.org.sg/animation

‘Hush Baby’ and ‘White’ are part of the official selection for this year’s BALINALE International Film Festival. They will be screened before feature film ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Valentino: The Last Emperor’ respectively on 21 Oct, 9 pm and 22 Oct, 7pm at Galeria 21 Cineplex, Simpang Siur, Kuta-Bali, Indonesia.
See the entire film list here: http://www.balinale.com

This is what I sent to my London counterpart. In the future, I imagine we would eventually run out of burial space on Earth and began sending our beloved ones into outer space. But with so much debris flowing around, a collision caused the capsule to break open and therefore releasing the body.

The character clutching the letter is sort of autobiographical, that’s my mother. I remember on the morning when she died last year, my younger sister wrote a letter for her, folded it into a crane and placed it on her hands as she laid in the coffin. We do not know what she wrote and we never ask, because it is for her. And, here is what Su from London drew in response:

Click the picture above for a scanned image.

It is rather spontaneous because we never corresponded at all and I did not explain on the postcard. After Su completed her part, she sent me a screenshot of the postcard. I wrote back saying that what she drew gave a peaceful aura and that the intended message is not important. If I really have to attach a meaning to the image, I would say that the deceased had moved on to a better place (maybe nirvana) and that she is able to hear us from there.

At this time, I received a postcard from London, this time from Jacqui!

And she asks, in her postcard, “Will birds marry mobiles?” Because birds are adapting to the environment, and some birds are singing the songs of cellphone ring tones, they are falling love. Hee hee, here’s my response:

Click the picture above for a scanned image.

I had so much fun!

There are 20 other postcards to look at if you happen to be in London during this period (21-27 Sep). All postcards will also be auctioned to raise funds for Envision, a UK registered charity.

Idea Generation Gallery
11 Chance Street, E2 7JB
(Just off Redchurch Street, off Shoreditch High St.)
Nearest tubes: Liverpool Street/ Old Street

Previews: 21 – 27 September 2009
(Monday – Friday: 10am – 6pm, Saturday – Sunday: 12pm – 5pm)

Auction Party: 26 September 2009, 6pm – 9pm
(For an invitation to the Auction Party, Please RSVP info@creativesinergy.com)