Alone
The story behind the making
When I was finishing university and preparing to enter adult society, everything around me felt distorted, unhealthy, or unwelcoming. That feeling became the core idea behind this film.
For my final thesis project, I decided to explore CG animation. I had already been experimenting with drawing and stop-motion techniques, but since I’m not very good at drawing and it was difficult to find experienced people in stop-motion at the time, I chose to learn CG animation instead. The story was inspired by a simple question: If none of the spaces society offers feel like they are meant for you, then what options do you have?
I developed a style influenced by Tim Burton’s aesthetic. I created one main character representing the idea of a newborn facing society, and another character, a little punk girl, who represented love. Why punk? Because she embodied defiance, the counter culture spirit needed to reject the status quo and search for what truly matters, in this case, acceptance and love and love needs defiance.
This became my first CG animated short film, and it eventually changed my life. After finishing it, I premiered it in Chile, but it didn’t receive the attention I had hoped for. So I sent it to several festivals around the world, and it won the Jury Prize in Japan at Eibunren, a Japanese association of audiovisual producers. After traveling to Japan, I decided to invest more time learning CG animation tools, and in 2014 I moved to Japan, working first as a creative and later as a CG generalist in the film and gaming industry.