Take 5 with "Amazonia"

As we gear up for the Oxford Film Festival 2011 to be held at the Malco Studio Theater on Feb. 10-13, 2011, we thought we might introduce you to some of the people behind the movies we can't wait to show you.

Meet Take 5 filmmaker, Sam Chen, creator of "Amazonia." 
For the full schedule and description of the films, visit www.oxfordfilmfest.com.

Q. 1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

A: Imagine Disney's Fantasia meets Looney Tunes with treefrogs set in the Amazon. Put all in a blender, hit puree, and voila.. you get AMAZONIA!
Q. 2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

A: No matter how difficult and discouraging things got, I learned to always stay inspired, and never give up. Another big lesson was to trust my gut instincts. I had received some heavyweight advice from some pretty higher ups.. and at the end of the day, my gut instincts prevailed. The film is better and more "unique" because of it. The best part was in marrying the sound & picture together and seeing the synergy take it somewhere unexpected and unplanned. It became something of its own. And of course the icing on the cake is in sharing this special little film with audiences from around the world.
Q. 3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

A: I am a self-taught animator & filmmaker. I got my degree in computer science & engineering from UCLA, but I always knew I would marry technology with art someday. After working at Silicon Graphics for almost 10 years, I acquired enough chops to strike out on my own and created many independent computer animated shorts. Many of which have gone on to screen all over the world and winning many awards including the SIGGRAPH Grand Prize and being short-listed for an Academy Award.
Q. 4: What's your dream distribution plan for the film?

A: After doing 2 years of the film festival circuit, I hope to license my film for TV, theatrical, DVD, and perhaps internet delivery. Of course, the ultimate dream would be an offer to turn this into a TV show or feature film. Any takers? ;)
Q. 5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

A: Currently, when I can, I am traveling with my film to various film festivals around the world. Back home, I am freelancing as an animator & cg artist and looking forward to re-inventing myself as a filmmaker in 2011. I hope to try my hands at feature animation, video game cinematics, and some web & cable TV episodic animation. Should be a fun year!