Tella, a short Filipino animated film on a mysterious girl and a misplaced star, has earned multiple recognitions in different film festivals across the globe.
The 12-minute piece follows the journey of a little girl in a good night’s sleep, who was woken up by a fallen star. The celestial body wishes to return to the night sky.
The short was written and directed by Filipino animator Zachary Conlu, who honed his skills under the Animation Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. He shared the award-winning short was created as a magical world where Tella can play carefree.
“I had Tella in my head since college days. She was always lingering, appearing in the doodles I made during class, finding her way on my notebooks, sketchbooks, and different papers I could get my hands on. But strange as it may seem, I never really knew who or what she was,” the artist started.
“The story grew in my head till it became an epic – different characters sprang up and Tella became nothing more than this side character.”
So when it was time to finally put this vision into an actual film, Conlu realized that it was about time to finally turn the spotlight on Tella and give her the back story she deserves.
In the titular film, Tella leads spectators into an adventure far from the worries of daily life and reminds them of the value of friendship and trust.
With the help of fellow Benildeans Pauline Jan Villanueva, who composed the musical score, and Anthony Tobias, who was tapped for sound design, Conlu’s Tella won the hearts of many viewers across different competitions here and abroad.
The short bagged Best Soundtrack at the Reale Film Festival Italy. It also won Best Original Score at the Vesuvius International Film Fest Italy, Venezia Shorts Italy.
It was also recognized at the Feel The Reel International Film Festival UK with Best Original Score, Best Animation, and Audience Awards.
It garnered the Best Sound Design Award at the International Cosmopolitan Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan.
Musical scorer Villanueva was also hailed as Best Composer at the Toronto Indie Shorts in Canada.
The film was included as an Official Selection at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival, Spark Animation and Around International Barcelona, where it bagged the Best Animation.
It was recognized with the Best Animation Award from Kalakari Film Festival in India.
Honorable Mentions for Best Animation were granted by the Long Story Shorts International Film Festival Romania and ARFF Paris Film Festival.
In local shoes, Tella was nominated for Best Director and Best Editing and won Best Sound Score and Best Sound Design titles at the CineANIMO Film Festival.