VIP Interview with Christina Teenz Tan, co-director of the Award Winning Short Film ‘Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate’

Christina Teenz Tan is a talented filmmaker, neuroscience researcher and creator. Her film ‘Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate’ was recently awarded at the New York International Film Awards. We had the pleasure of talking with her about the process behind the creation of this touching animated short, the connection between creativity and science, and the future of the companionship between human beings and the inanimate: “whether that inanimate is an artificially intelligent device, smart technology, or a robot”.

Christina, you co-directed the animated short ‘Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate’. What should the audience expect to see?

This short animation is based on Alan the Musical, a staged musical currently in development. This sci-fi story is about the future of companionship and the way in which humans and artificially intelligent lifeforms (called inanimate) will interact in the future. In this animated film we explore not only the novel relationships humans and inanimate will share in the future, but also the complex dynamics of human relationships with the music of the Lim Fantasy of Companionship for Piano and Orchestra.

When did you decide to become a film director?

We have always believed in making this a musical production and have previously completed a staged reading at UCLA School of Theater. However, when the pandemic struck, this proved to be quite challenging and we pivoted to explore other outlets including creating an animated short story. We eventually organized an animation team led by Samudra Kajal Saikia who executed this project brilliantly!

You are a neuroscience researcher at Stanford University, California. How do you combine your careers as a scientist and as a filmmaker?

To me, science and artistic expression go hand in hand. I have always really enjoyed creative writing alongside writing scientific manuscripts. Through our project, our team hoped to artistically explore the future of companionship and artificial intelligence as well as communicate fascinating scientific concepts in a musical context.

The movie clearly has a huge scientific component. Do you often use your scientific background when writing your stories?

Yes, when writing one of our tracks “Teleportation” we delved thoroughly into the realm of physics and scoured through many important papers and literature in the field of quantum teleportation. We wanted to have a deep understanding of this concept to guide our artistic portrayal of this concept in the animation.

The co-director Christina Teenz Tan and the official poster of ‘Fantasy of Companionship between Human and Inanimate’

We know you have a great passion for music. Do you feel the soundtrack of the movie serves a character in the story or did you choose to use it more to create tension, drama and circumstances in the film?

We feel that the Lim Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra is a beautiful piece of music, while the animation is what truly brings our story and characters to life! Some tracks including “Off to College”, “Boy Scientist” and “Evil Professor” were composed with the characters in mind.

Who are the directors that inspire you the most?

I really loved the film Soul and recently have been inspired by the director Pete Docter.

In light of the recent Oscars victory of Chloé Zhao, and the growing inclusion of talented female directors like Greta Gerwig, Lulu Wang, and many more: what are your thoughts as a female director yourself? How do you think the film industry can keep improving moving forward?

To create a more inclusive and equal landscape in the media industry I believe there should more opportunities for female directors! I am very grateful to have had this opportunity myself.

What is the message you want to communicate to the audience through your movie?

That the future of companionship between human and inanimate is here! Whether that inanimate is an artificially intelligent device, smart technology, or a robot, today they play important roles in our lives and we hope to start a global conversation on this topic through music and film.

In the film there are many references to famous painters such as Michelangelo, Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. What were you trying to communicate through these iconic paintings?

We have a great deal of respect for the great artists that came before us! Recently we went to the Art Institute of Chicago and were inspired by Picasso’s Old Guitarist, which was featured in our track Boy Scientist. In this scene we juxtaposed our character the young scientist who dances jubilantly in a lab with the depiction of an elderly musician playing guitar in the beautiful oil painting!

There is a beautiful play by Nick Robideau called “Inanimate” where the lead role, Erica, talks and even falls in love with inanimate objects. We were wondering if you ever read the play or watched the show and got inspired by it for your movie.

No, we have not but we always love getting new materials to inspire us.

Do you believe the childhood objects that we love so dearly growing up, can really carry some sort of magical powers?

Many of us do hold onto many childhood memorabilia which reminds us of certain places, people, and memories from the distant past. There is definitely some magic in that!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Stay tuned for our upcoming fantastic animation titled “Cosmic Rhapsody”.

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