Five Questions With... Jamy Wheless (THE PIG ON THE HILL)

In the kids’ short THE PIG ON THE HILL, narrated by Pierce Brosnan, Pig and Duck are next-door neighbors, but worlds apart.

We spoke with filmmaker Jamy Wheless about the film. Read more with him below, and bring the whole family to the screening on Saturday, June 22 at 9am!

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

JAMY: The inspiration of the film came from the children's book written by John Kelly.  We fell in love with the two characters and the message of how to simply "get along". Personally, growing up with "barriers" in my life, the "bridge" is symbolic of how we should reach out and be intentional in each other's lives. No walls, just bridges!

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

JAMY: Animation is the highest possible art form in my perspective. You have the ability to tell any story with any type of character. It transcends through any judgements and allows not only the creators but also the audiences to connect and relate universally.

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

JAMY: The biggest advantages of making a short is time and money. Feature Films can take up to 4 years to produce and can prove costly. But short films allow the opportunity to complete a story, finance it, distribute it, and show that you have the ability to tell a story worth telling. The disadvantage is that it forces you to condense a story arc into less than ten minutes which is probably a good thing.

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

JAMY: We are currently in development working on another children's TV series that we hope to partner with a distributor by end of this year. We are also working on an Augmented Reality project that is exciting. And we are currently in talks with a Distributor for "The Pig on the Hill" TV series that we are super excited about!

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?

JAMY: I had hoped we would be joining everyone at the Nantucket Film Festival but logistically we couldn't make it work. Nantucket is one of the most beautiful places in the world and a favorite spot that my wife and I love to visit. Our daughter went to Rhode Island School of Design and we traveled out there many times and enjoyed the surrounding areas.

Our hope is that the Nantucket audience will walk away with a smile. And both children and adults will be encouraged to work through their differences and build authentic, lifelong friendships!