Five Questions With... Nölwenn Roberts (SAM'S DREAM)

In SAM’S DREAM, a small mouse decides to pursue his crazy dream: flying with swallows.

We spoke to Writer/Director Nölwenn Roberts, whose short film SAM’S DREAM will play in “Kids Shorts” on Saturday, June 22 at 9am. Read more with Nölwenn, and bring your family to see her film (and more!) on the 22nd!

NFF: Please say a little about your inspiration for the film.

NÖLWENN: I started by just a drawing of a mouse, without thinking it would become a short film. Then a friend asked me why the mouse was going to do and I started imagining his life, by that time I was listening to the music of a film called BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. The music is amazing and it helped me imagining the story of a mouse who wants to fly.

NFF: Why do you enjoy working in animation to express your vision?

NÖLWENN: First, I always loved drawing. Then I discovered that I could tell stories with drawings, and make movies with it ! Now I think, as directors, animation allows us to "free" our imagination, I may not have think about this story the way I did if we made a live action film. 

NFF: What do you find the biggest advantages and challenges of making a short as opposed to a feature?

NÖLWENN: I think the challenge of a short film is to tell a compelling story in less than 10 minutes so we don't always have the time to develop a big character arc like in a feature. But the time we have on a feature can also be challenging as we can easily lose the storyline by wanting to explore lots of different aspects of the characters and relationships and it makes it hard to stay focus on what we want to tell. In this, it's much easier to keep our storyline by making a short film.

NFF: What are you working on currently, and/or where can we see more of your work?

NÖLWENN: I am currently working as a storyboard artist at Illumination on SING 2. You can see some of my personal work on my tumblr or instagram: https://nolwenn-roberts.tumblr.com/ | @nolwenn.roberts.art

NFF: Why are you excited to screen in Nantucket, and/or what do you hope Nantucket audiences might relate to or takeaway from the film?

NÖLWENN: SAM’S DREAM is about making your dreams come true, but also connecting with people and making friends, I hope audiences in Nantucket will relate to this!