Past Filmmakers

Chris Ndingwan & Emily Edwards
Até 12:52

1. How did you come up with the idea for the film?

The story originated with West African folklore.  As Ndingwan says, “In the good old days, African parents told traditional stories to children, stories handed down from generation to generation.  Parents did this in the evening, after dinner and around a glowing fire.”  Ndingwan wanted to take one of these stories and make it come alive in moving images.  Edwards has a deep fascination for folklore of all types: American, African, Asian, and European.  Edwards encouraged Ndingwan to produce one, which he did in a studio environment using still illustrations and a storyteller.  Later, Edwards and Ndingwan decided to collaborate on an animated version of another traditional African story, turning it into the narrative script, Ate'.  They decided to use a voice over narrator in addition to character dialogue to retain something of the oral storyteller so important to the traditional folklore.

2. How long did the production process take?

The production itself took several weeks.  Edwards and Ndingwan wrote the script together, then Ndingwan translated it into French.  He cast the voices using people from West Africa who were living in Greensboro and recorded their performances on audio tape.  Edwards did the storyboard and artwork for the animation, which they decided would be a cutout style of animation.  Together Edwards and Ndingwan filmed the cutouts in Edwards' kitchen.  The production hit a snag with postproduction funding and technical resources necessary to put in the subtitles.  The project was shelved for several years until Edwards could get access to nonlinear digital editing equipment to re-edit the project and put in the subtitles.

3. Challenges experienced in the creation of the story?

Funding and postproduction support were the biggest challenges.  Also challenging was finding and casting the voice talent and animating hundreds of tiny cutout pieces, which could blow out of alignment with the slightest breeze.

4. Favorite moment in creating the film?

 Ndingwan enjoyed directing the project in a non-traditional environment (--they filmed the animation in Edwards' kitchen and living room, not a studio).  For Edwards, a favorite moment came with the realization of how rich and diverse North Carolina truly is and the fascinating ways our diverse stories can intersect.

5. What we hope viewers can take away from viewing this film?

Edwards and Ndingwan want viewers to appreciate and honor human difference.  (Difference carries with it false assumptions about value and hierarchy.)  However, the filmmakers also hope audiences enjoy the fairy tale qualities of the story and will be amused by the primitive cutout animation technique.

6. What type of reaction has your film received from viewers? 

Very few people have seen this film.  Many in the very first small audience did not speak French and had difficulty following the narrative without subtitles.  French speaking audiences have said the film was “divertissant” and “engageant.” The Visions broadcast is the first public showing of this work since Edwards and Ndingwan have added the subtitles and completed a final edit of the project.

7. What advice would you give to young aspiring filmmakers?

 Ndingwan suggests looking for unusual ways to tell and do a story.  “Stick to your dream and vision.  Be persistent.  Moreover, be patient.  And be creative.”  Edwards would add, “Yes, be creative.  There is an economic bias against independent filmmakers, which makes them –of necessity— among the most creative people.  If you can't find the budget to produce a movie one way, perhaps there is another way to make the movie with the budget you have –or perhaps there is an even more creative –and frugal-- way to tell the same story.  And perhaps there are ways to find the production budget you need other than running up huge credit card bills.”

8. Please tell us about the next films you plan to work on. 

Ndingwan wants to adapt more African folklore into short animated and dramatic pieces.  He doesn't have a specific project in the works now because the dissertation comes first.  Edwards is particularly interested in imported folk beliefs and folk medicine.  (She recently completed a documentary, Folk Medicine, which aired on South Carolina's Southern Lens.)  Edwards and Ndingwan hope to collaborate again when schedule and finances permit it.  The West African community in Greensboro is much larger than it was when the two began their collaboration on Ate'.  “There are many, many more stories to tell.”

9. What are your thoughts on the film industry in North Carolina?

Ndingwan believes it-- “Looks bright and promising.”   Edwards believes the independent community of artists, musicians, and filmmakers is richest where “the paths intersect and we no longer have narrow or confining definitions of who we are.”