2024 Female Director’s Grant: Kaniz Fatema
KANIZ FATEMA
Congratulations to the Titmouse Foundation 2024 Female Director’s Grant recipient!
The grant aims to support and elevate the voices of female filmmakers who are committed to telling diverse and underrepresented stories through animation. Learn more about it here.
Kaniz is a South Asian American storyboard artist and animator who has previously worked on an HBO Documentary, Donyale Luna (2023). She was also part of our 2023 Future Directors Program.
Below, Kaniz shares with us her inspirations and experiences while making this film.
What inspired you and why did you want to tell this story?
I have a habit of daydreaming when I listen to music. In 2023 I listened to a Bengali song called “Kotha Koiyo Na” from Coke Studio Bangla on repeat. The song is about a person waiting for their lover in a garden. However, its grandeur and epic vocals and instrumentals painted me a picture of a great supernatural flood with an army of giant fish. Every time I listened to the song the visuals grew stronger and I knew I had to make art about it.
Fishing is a pillar of Bengali culture, and fish is a staple in our cuisine. So much so that other South Asian communities joke about how much we love fish! For the past century and even more so currently the Bay of Bengal is a region impacted by climate change with rising sea levels, cyclones and monsoons. Though this reality is harsh and poses a threat to human and animal life, the perspective of nature may be different. With time the earth finds a way to heal itself and things find a new identity. With this film I want to explore ways to personify nature in a romantic way: that the sea yearns to embrace the land and tell a story about inevitable change, and the struggle to accept it.
The Titmouse Foundation provides their grant recipients mentorship and production support for 1 year. What were some things you have learned during this time and appreciate about this process?
As a person who didn’t go to college for animation, the mentorship I’m receiving is very precious to me. My mentors James Surgue and Chris Boylan, our production manager Meagan Washington, and Shannon Prynoski herself have taught me both technical skills and life lessons and they’ve been motivating figures throughout this time. Checking in weekly with them and animators gives the production structure and sets a standard for communication and accountability. Half of the workload of being a director is non-creative and I find that my background as a teacher has helped me with giving back notes and draw-overs. I learned what a design breakdown is, how many turns are needed in character sheets, and most importantly that tasks need to be delegated. Creatively, I learned that the concept art stage should not be rushed! Although I feel good about my storyboards, after kicking off animation, I saw where they should have been more informative and clear in posing and staging. The funding I’m receiving makes the world of a difference in the quality I could strive for in this short, and has been enriched by the wonderful talent of everyone on board. I learn best by being hands-on, and directing this short has allowed me to exercise my intuition and confidence. This is one of the few opportunities in my life where my vision is the priority and everyone around me was equipped with the knowledge and desire to bring it to fruition.
I am truly so grateful for Shannon's support and the mentoring that I've received so far, the Foundation rocks!
