The Dreams of Jinsha made its East Coast Premiere at The New York International Film Festival (NYICFF) 2011. Five years in the making, it’s mainland China’s first hand-drawn animated film. It was one of the 15 films to qualify for the Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscar’s. The film is a blend of Chinese history/mythology in a time travel fantasy adventure- as Xiao Long, a young boy from Bejing, is hurled back in time to 3,000 year’s to the Jinsha Kingdom and finds himself at the center of an ancient prophecy. Xiao must make the difficult choice of risking his life to save the Kingdom of Jinsha. It’s an epic masterpiece; a visually breath-taking film inspired by the works of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. Thanks to the wonderful people at NYICFF, Samurai Beat Radio was given the opportunity to an exclusive with the director Chem Deming.
Sara Barton: How does it feel to have your film premiere at the (New York International Children’s Film Festival)
NYICFF?
Chem Deming:
《梦回金沙城》在纽约国际儿童电影节放映时获得了来自美国儿童的欢迎，他们非常喜欢故事里面的小狗星星，还几次问到星星是什么品种的狗、是不是他们收养一条小狗也能穿越到古代……这给了我们很大的鼓励，也带来许多新的创作灵感。我们在后续作品的创作中，会用到孩子们的许多童真想法，希望新作品能够继续得到孩子们的喜爱与关注。
It gave us a lot of encouragement that American children who watched The Dreams of Jinsha at the NYICFF enjoyed the film. They liked Xingxing, the dog in the story, very much, and asked several questions about him, such as what breed he was, and if they looked after a dog would they then be able to go back in time to ancient civilization. And this also gave us a lot of new
creative inspiration. So in our future works, we hope to make use of children’s
innocent thoughts and hope that our works will continue to be enjoyed by
children.
Sara Barton: What was your inspiration for this film?
Chem Deming:
The inspiration for The Dreams of Jinsha came during a visit to the Jinsha Museum. Viewing cultural relics dating back 3,500 years ago, exquisite beyond comparison, I could sense the high-level civilization of that age. Humans, animals, and nature growing together, gradually becoming glorious through a beautiful process. I felt struck by lightning with this
feeling, which moved me immensely, and in that instant, I “passed through time”, like Xiao Long in the film.
Sara Barton: What drove you to become an animator?
Chem Deming:
I’ve liked drawing ever since I was young, and after many years, I finally had the
opportunity to use the art of animation to realize the dream within me. The Dreams of Jinsha was my first film, so it was this film that turned me into an animator.
Sara Barton: Over the years studios have preferred to create 3D animated films; recently 2D animated films are making a comeback. What are your thoughts on this? Which method do you prefer? & Why?
Chem Deming:
2D，3D只是电影的一种表现形式，作为不同的艺术手法，它们共同存在，并且各有优势。就像摄影和油画一样，在摄影诞生之初，有人曾预言油画会被取代，但实际上，油画仍有自己存在的空间。我个人始终认为，选择什么样的表现形式关键是看表达的故事内容最适合用哪种形式，我个人更喜欢用2D，因为有手绘的笔触和色彩。
2D and 3D are just different forms of showing film images, and as different artistic
techniques, they can exist together, and both have their advantages. Just like
photography and paintings, during the early stages of photography, there were
people who predicted that paintings would be replaced. However, it remains that
paintings still have their own space to exist. I have always believed that,
whatever display style one chooses, the key is to see what style most suitably
fits the film’s content. Personally, I prefer 2D, because of its brushwork and
coloration.
Sara Barton: In one of the scenes Xiao Long notices a piece of paper on his desk is floating in the air. 3D animation is usually used for this type of effect. How were you able to do it in 2D animation? What was the process?
Chem Deming:
This scene depicts Xiao Long’s fond memories of Jinsha City. First of all, we observed the motions of a piece of paper floating through the air to figure out the movements and directions. Only through deciphering the directions of the changes of perspectives, could we create a
realistic image.
Sara Barton: Several critics have noticed that your film has many similarities to Miyazaki’s work; would you say he’s been an artistic influence? Also are there any other artists who’ve influenced your
work?
Chem Deming:
I think that the standard of “beauty” is the same around the world. I like Miyazaki’s works,
they’re very beautiful. Spielberg’s films I like even more – he puts more thinking into the dimensions of human nature.
Sara Barton: What’s next for the future?
Chem Deming:
We are already working on a series of follow-ups to The Dreams of Jinsha – a second
film entitled 《天鹿回家》Tianlu Huijia (English title yet to be decided), and a television series version of The Dreams of Jinsha. In the meantime, we also have a plan to bring
out film-related memorabilia and books bearing the film’s name. For example,
the first book of the film’s book series is already out.
Sara Barton: Will the film be released in the US?
Chem Deming:
Regarding the screening of The Dreams of Jinsha in the US, we are currently in talks with a US distribution company, so watch this space!
Thank you, Mr. Deming, it has been a pleasure. We look forward to seeing The Dreams of Jinsha released in the US.
Translated by: John Burton
Off the Record 