"It
has always been an endearing aim for me since my school
days, to be able to create and share films that inspire
wonderful thoughts about life, through means of traditional
animation techniques. In the spring of 2000, July Films
was formed out of this aspiration, and began works on its
first independent feature entitled My Little World.
At its infant stage, the film was meant to be a short, revolving
around the beautiful dance-like movements of soccer, a theme
that I feel is much fun and exhilarating to express through
the traditional animation medium. But once I started to
remember those soccer days of my youth, the endearing memory
of warm friendships also returned, and in a sense, became
the main theme of the film; from this point, the short became
a feature.
On the surface, My Little World, set in a make-belief
world somewhere in East Asia, is filled with everyday life
activities, intertwined with the love for soccer from a
childlike perspective. Underneath, it is an attempt to communicate
the inner feelings of our human nature. And so in a sense,
its outlook does not reflect the mind set of children behaviors
based on a certain age, but rather reflects the childlike
point-of-view regardless of age.
The film is not plot driven per se, but rather is
very much about emotions, 
communicated
mainly through pantomime with minimal dialogue. The film's
pacing is gentle, allowing time for the viewers to examine
the interior world of the characters involved.
My
Little World also aims to express a certain sense of
innocence. Innocence is a wonderful quality, given the wisdom
of age to fully appreciate it. To maintain this innocence,
the overall color, design, and styling of the film reflects
a sense of simplicity, sincerity, elegance, pure and gentle
in nature, avoiding theatrical coloring, lighting, and acting
styles. It also strongly promotes a certain aspect of human
values, such as the strong bond of friendship and family,
along with a sense of peaceful co-existence within the community.
Due
to its unique story approach, the soundtrack for My Little
World will have a very important and special role. We
are very blessed that Inti-Illimani,
the world renowned music group from Chile, has principally
agreed to provide the music track, both in composing and
performing for the film. (Personally, I am very much honored
and looking forward to this once in a lifetime collaboration).
We have been working on My Little World for 4 years.
We are nearing completion of the rough animation stage,
and have built a very strong foundation for the 80 min.
film. Currently, we are seeking for completion funding to
complete our project. Once this fund is connected, it will
take one more year to bring the film to its final stage.
My
Little World gently reminds us that in a fast pace material
world, life is sometimes most beautiful in its simplest
ways! We look forward to its completion, and hope that you
will enjoy the completed film someday soon!"
--Mike
Nguyen, Jul 2005
