AILIN ON THE MOON was the winner of BEST ANIMATION film at the June 2020 Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.
Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?
Claudia M. Ruiz: From an experience, it made me think about how in the universe of young children, everything is possible, and the limit of reality and fantasy is very labile, and in that world, the word of the adult is so important and builds a world for him.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this short?
This story happened 20 years ago. I worked on it in a couple of script labs, but only in 2018 did I earn the funds to do it, and also found the visual way to tell it.
3. How would you describe your short film in two words!?
Tenderness and poetry.
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The time, the funds we got to make it were minimal, so I had to respect the filming schedule and post to get to finish it. So the love we all put in was so much greater than the financial reward.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It was a tremendous emotion, seeing how they saw every detail of acting, of construction, seeing the emotion in their expressions. It was incredibly beautiful. I would have loved to be there and give you a hug!
Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:
6. How did you come up with the idea for this short film?
It is based on a true story that happened to a friend, and she just told me about the anguish that her little daughter Ailín felt when she threatened “revoke her” to the moon. The girl thought she was going to be alone, she wouldn’t have her toys, she would be hungry. Then it made me think about the value and weight that adult words have on children.
I wanted to show on one hand the weight of the word, and also the loneliness that a child feels with a scream.
So once I had more or less the common thread, the formal search was how to transmit that in a poetic way so that children could watch it, tell them that they can say “I don’t want you to treat me like this, it hurts me”.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Cinema Paradiso, The Journey of Chijiro, Dumbo.
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway, what are you feelings of the submission platform from a filmmaker’s perspective?
I love it, because it allows me to get to places and festivals that I did not know, to show my film in a simple way, without the terrible work that was before sending everything to each place. Wonderful.
9. What song have you listened to the most times in your life?
Imagine
10. What is next for you? A new film?
I am currently filming an animated documentary series on children’s rights, and writing a feature film.
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 