Animating life

MANILA, Philippines - When he applied to be the animator for independent film My Suicide, Arvin Bautista thought he would be working on the project for a few months as his first job straight out of college. Little did he know that the film would turn into a monumental three-year endeavor that would take him around the world as part of the critically acclaimed film’s production team.

Arvin was born in Quezon City but relocated to New Jersey when he was nine. Since high school, he had been interested in animation and began learning it on his own. Even before studying film at the University of Southern California, Arvin had won awards for his work.

Despite growing up in the US, he says “I love Filipino comics,” listing Pugad Baboy as one of his influences. “I started drawing at a very young age and I’ve always been interested in storytelling,” he says. “When I got hold of a camera, the two media came together and that’s when I realized that I really like film and animation.”

Since he did not have formal training, Arvin did not expect to get a job as an animator, but when a professor saw a job listing for My Suicide, he encouraged Arvin to apply. “I didn’t have any connections, which is very important in Hollywood,” he says. It was a long shot, but he sent his portfolio in anyway.

My Suicide, directed by David Lee Miller, follows a high school student who announces that he plans to film himself committing suicide as a final project. The whole community starts to take notice of the previously ignored young filmmaker. “The thing that makes the film interesting is that the movie itself is supposed to be the movie that he is making,” Arvin explains.

Arvin’s background as a self-taught animator is what appealed most to the producers of the film. “They ended up turning down some more professional animation studios,” opting to use Arvin’s more rough style that fit perfectly with the feel of the movie.

With a pastiche of scripted scenes, real life interviews, film clips and animation seamlessly woven together, the film gives an intimate view of teen issues in America, told from their own perspective.

The film was supposed to be finished in 2006. “It was a long time coming and we were starting to get nervous that we would never finish,” says Arvin. Throughout the making of the film they tried to enter film fests but were not able to finish the movie in time

Finally, when they had completed the movie, they were accepted into the Berlin film festival. The pro-ducers had promised the whole team that, since they had stuck with the production, they would all be part of the film’s premiere in Berlin. “It was an incredible experience.”

“People just loved the movie in a way that we could not have expected,” says Arvin. In the youth film section, My Suicide won the Crystal Bear, the highest prize in the category. After their success in Berlin, My Suicide was invited to more film festivals, playing across the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. “No matter where we are in the world, teenagers always understand the film.”

Suicide being a taboo subject, it was animation that helped make it more approachable. “It spoke to teenagers directly,” he says. Most of the team, like Arvin, were also young and brought many fresh ideas to the production.

Aside from bringing My Suicide to film fests around the world, Arvin, who describes himself as “fiercely indpendent,” keeps busy with his own animation and design outfit, Greasy Pig Studios. “My Suicide was my girlfriend for three years,” he quips. “Now I’m just ‘dating around.’” He has been working on a documentary entitled Alab ng Puso, about his parents who were student activists. He hopes to return to the Philippines soon to finish the project.

Recently featured in the Cinemanila film festival, Arvin was excited to represent My Suicide in his home country. Audience members were impressed to find out that Arvin was a self-taught animator, giving them encouragement to pursue animation.

Arvin notes that many talented Filipinos in the field of animation. “I want to see a more distinctly Filipino visual style,” he says, hoping to see more of what Filipino animators have to offer.