A TRACE, 5min,. USA
Directed by Julietta Zamora Lam
A 3D Animated Shortfilm in which a young girl learns to shed her guilt about her absent father.

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Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
A Trace is heavily inspired by my own personal experiences growing up with an absent father. At the age of 3 years old, my biological father moved to a different country and has not been in contact with me since. Throughout my childhood, I felt a lot of conflicting feelings about having an absent father. I often longed for my father to be in my life and felt that I missed my father, but at the same time, I also held a lot of anger towards him for leaving. I watched many films throughout my lifetime depicting children missing and longing for their deceased parents, and although there were similar feelings I had in longing and missing my absent father, the ultimate difference was in the choice to be present, which is something deceased parents do not have. Although many children grow up with absent parents, I felt seldom represented in the movies and films I watched. It wasn't until I saw Pixar's "Coco" that I realized it was possible to make a story about an absent parent. I watched Coco, a story about a family dealing with the trauma of an estranged father, and I felt so seen and inspired. Even still, the absent father in Coco died before being able to return, which left me longing for something more accurate to myself. So, when given the opportunity to pitch a project for my senior thesis at San Jose State University, I decided to take from my personal experiences and make a film that had the exact experience and message that I wanted to see in a film. This is a film dedicated to my younger self, as well as the many kids out there who have grown up longing for their absent parents. I hope kids out there can see this film and choose to love themselves no matter what their family looks like!

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I began playing with the idea of pitching this film in May of 2022, at first simply starting with a note in my phone with a bullet point list of ideas. In June of 2022, I solidified my idea and began recruiting a team over the summer to develop and pitch "A Trace" as a thesis project for our senior year. July was full pre-production: story modifications and creating some 3D assets to test our proof of concept. In August 2022, we pitched the film to the SJSU Faculty and were approved! So from August 2022 to May of 2023, we were fully in production and managed to finish the film just before graduating. The film was completed on May 23rd, 2023. It took just about a year to complete from the initial idea to the final film!

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Playful Heartache!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest obstacle we faced while working on A Trace was definitely having to juggle our other senior college classes alongside working on the film. Having deadlines for other projects and assignments took time away from working on our film. I was so passionate about our film that it was the only thing I wanted to focus on, but couldn't due to other classes! In the end we managed our time well enough to finish the film and pass all our other classes just fine!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I loved hearing the various reactions to our film in the feedback video! It was so touching to hear the positive feedback and encouragement. It was amazing to see the audience point out specific aspects of our film that they enjoyed, and the message that they took from our film. As the director of the film, it was especially exciting to hear the audience understand the exact message and themes we worked hard to portray. It truly felt like our film resonated with the audience and that they genuinely enjoyed it! I'm grateful to have their feedback.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
As a kid I always had animated films and cartoons playing. I was so captivated by the art and stories! When I was in 5th grade, we went to see Pixar's Toy Story 3 in theatres on release day. Ever since that day I realized how much I loved animated films, and that I wanted to help be part of making them.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Haha, the film I've probably watched the most in my life is Pixar's "Cars". Not necessarily because it was my favorite movie, but because my younger brother was a toddler around the time Cars released and that's all he ever wanted to watch. He watched it multiple times a day on repeat. I've probably seen it hundreds of times because of him! I have a fond nostalgia for Cars thanks to my younger brother. It's a great film!

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Helping promote our film and its filmmakers on social media helps us a lot with building our credibility and expanding our reach! Many film festivals already do this, but any that don't should try and start!

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
FilmFreeway is an amazing platform for connecting films, filmmakers, and festivals all together. It makes finding and contacting festivals so easy, and it also helps create a secure place to submit and exchange info! It's the must-use platform for festivals and filmmakers.

10. What is your favorite meal?
My favorite meal is combination fried rice! It's so versatile, you can add whatever you want to it, and eat it alongside lots of other things. It's also super easy to cook at home, so I often make it myself!

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I'm hoping to break into the animation industry in the near future once an opportunity finds me! For now, I'm continuing to share our film and promote our achievements!