Canadian cinema has a new face to watch: VFX coordinator and producer Jody Wilson. Her first short film “Indigo” is pure awesomeness! It screened at this year’s Oldenburg International Film Festival fresh off winning the Best Sci Fi Award at Hollyshorts.
“Indigo” is a nu-sci fi drama set in Northern Japan about Takumi, a boy conflicted by his intergalactic agenda and the slow-burning love for his one earthly desire, his neighbor Yoshimi.
Jody Wilson wrote her short in English and then translated it into Japanese, the language it was finally shot in. This was, indeed, the perfect choice as Japanese sets it apart and contributes to the previously mentioned awesomeness. But, the plot is actually the short’s best part. It is a multi-layered story that immediately hooks the audience and lets them interpret it on their own. Stylistically inspired by graphic novels and Japanese anime, “Indigo” unfolds in a world that could have come right out of a comic book. Its “universe” is deftly created by the crisp yet dark imagery, courtesy of d.p. Ryan Petey and the modern costume and production designs by Deanna Palkowski and Gary Ferguson respectively, its coolest feature being Doka, Takumi’s robot.
But, “Indigo” also touches upon serious concepts like for instance mental illnesses, trying to provide a clinical/psychological or extra-terrestrial/other-worldly influence as an explanation for Takumi’s condition. The short intelligently tackles many of the less glorious aspects of humanity, such as depression, trauma, obsession, the feeling of not fitting in, homesickness… From a metaphysical point of view, it explores concepts like indigo children, humanoids and alien influences on Planet Earths. Through “Indigo”, Wilson communicates her own personal interpretation of how spirituality and science work hand in hand to create human experiences. And, the message is that not everything is as it seems…
“Indigo” is modern, smart, fun and awesome and Canada (and the world), look out of Jody Wilson!
Production: Greendale Productions (Canada 2016)
Producer: Marc Petey
Co-producers: Ryan Petey and Zach Steele
Director: Jody Wilson
Screenplay: Jody Wilson
Cinematography: Ryan Petey
Music: Camila Gutierrez
Production Design: Gary Ferguson
Costume design: Deanna Palkowski
Editing: Stephen Robertson
Cast: Keiko Boxall, Elizabeth Davison, Derek Kwan, Yumi Nagashima, Rintaro Sawamoto, Kohei Shinozaki, Yuta Takenaka, Mayumi Yoshida
Color – 20 min.
Premiere: February 2016
