Last year in Berlin, I met couple persons who encouraged me to submit my animation to IFVA, a film festival in Hong Kong. I was really excited and grateful for encouragement from the two persons. However, I wasn't ready, my animation wasn't ready. Few months ago, I finally finished it. Today I managed to submit my animation to IFVA. What a relief!
Honestly I had many difficulties during the submission process to lots of festivals within the last half year, sometimes I couldn't believe I made it. Like I found out so many terms and fields that I have to fill without knowing what they were; figuring out what a DCP format was; knowing the subtitle has to be separated from the film and submitted as a .srt file couple hours before the deadline, at the same time without knowing what a .srt file is and how to create it but it was 4a.m already.; submitting the film while waiting for the fight at the airport gate, had to board then same time error was shown from the website of the festival and I had few hours left to submit, however the flight was over 14 hours...more and more, I gained quite an experience and learnt a lot during a short time.
In fact, the whole animation began with a joke in 2005. I and my brother sat in a Hong Kong Cafe, waiting for our food, making jokes about plates and chopsticks in front of us on the table. He ordered a plate of Dry fried rice noodles with beef, and I ordered Singaporean fried rice noodles. I don't know how the idea that "the two plates of noodles fall in love at their first sight" came to our heads, we were laughing crazily and I had a sudden urge to say "Let's finish the animation within 10 years".
That year I worked at an advertising agency as an Assistant Art Director, watched a lot creative and unique films after work even if that was 3 O'clock in the morning, slept a few hours and went to work again. I guess that was somehow motivated me to have that thought. I dreamt about working in the film or animation industry after graduation, but it was just a dream, the reality told me that I don't have that much time to go to other path, I didn't work long in the field that I just graduated for, it was less than 2 years, it's just unacceptable if I started studying something else again, or changed my career path without working long enough, that's what I told myself and it was like that in my eyes.
I'm really happy that I have at least created 1 film after all these years, the more important point is, my promise was fulfilled. Plus, unexpectedly, that I won an award at Festival of Animation Berlin. So whatever the result will be, I think I have already gained a lot more than I expected. I will continue to do my best and what I love.