My World is a work that epitomises interdisciplinary collaboration between diverse individuals. The animation is a brainchild between LASALLE’s Puttnam School of Film and Animation and School of Contemporary Music, with Japanese director Miyako Makio, Singaporean producer Geraldine Toh, Vietnamese animator Nguyen Hong Ngoc Mai, and Chinese music composer Wang Jingyao comprising the team.
While three of the four alumni are back in their home countries now, My World is nevertheless gaining much traction in Singapore and in Catalonia. Not only will it be competing with 12 others for three awards at Cartoons Underground 2017, Singapore’s largest independent animation festival, it is also up against some strong contenders for the Best Animated Short Film at SITGES Film Festival 2017, a leading international festival for the fantasy and horror genre.
As a tale of how every action, no matter how small, can impact the universe, My World drew visual inspiration from Japan’s leading animation firm, Studio Ghibli. Speaking on behalf of Miyako, Geraldine shared: “She considered using germs and micro-organisms as a symbol, but they would have been too hard to visualise.” The team went with gears instead to represent the idea of “oneness”.
