Zozo is an animator & visual development artist from Taiwan.
She's worked on various films (including the critically acclaimed short 'A Gong' ), art installations,
children's books, and design projects.
"It follows the journey of a 7 year-old boy's acceptance of his grandpa's death in a traditional Taiwanese funeral. I felt like loss and grieving is a topic everyone can connect to because we’ve all lost someone at some point, so choosing this as our topic just felt right."
"Because this was a student film there were several directors. Everyone was really talented, really collaborative, really kind, but sometimes it was hard to work as a team. We had to come together and find a way to realize our singular vision in order to keep everyone satisfied. By doing so (and sometimes sacrificing our individual ideas) we were able to conquer our problems and work together."
"Because the film focuses on the challenges of losing someone, I learned alot about the importance of valuing people when they're alive. After I graduated from university, my grandpa had just passed away and I was feeling lost. I wanted to do something in his memory so, because he loved traveling, I decided to travel.
I took a solo trip to India and while I was there, I accidentally met this yoga teacher. He wanted to hug me which I instinctually thought was a bit odd and then he told me he loved me. In Taiwan, we view the phrase ‘I love you’ as too strong of a phrase so it is barely said. Meeting this complete stranger and hearing him say that to me taught me that it’s actually a very easy and beautiful phrase to say. As a culture, we tend to complicate the phrase but it’s such a simple way to heal others. So now I freely let people know how much I appreciate them. It may sound simple but it’s such an important thing to do. "