Thịnh Nguyễn found her love for drawing and storytelling at an early age, and as she grew up she discovered her passion for animation, which gave her a platform to tell her stories through moving images. Thịnh came across animation during her teen years, then decided to move to Denmark when she was 21, in the search for her voice in filmmaking and to learn about herself from a different perspective.
Her approach in filmmaking is influenced by the fundamentals of minimalism of simplicity and functionality. All elements in her films have to mean something and serve a purpose, even one blink from a character is a story element, to show emotions and train of thoughts. Her visual inspiration primarily comes from toy design and Scandinavian product design. She usually gets the idea for her characters from the shape of a lamp she saw at a restaurant or from a silhouette of a vase she saw during her shopping stroll. Her set designs are heavily influenced by minimal theater stage design which she finds very fascinating, how just by using a few objects you can create a scene or an atmosphere.
Her films are not just an artistic statement but also her diary, a place where she can tell her struggles in life, through fear and love, from her own feelings and emotions. To her, the story is an important part of the filmmaking process, where she tends to spend most of her time. Thịnh is now working on the script for her last film in a trilogy based on her personal experience as a human being, featuring the films: Tom Has a Plant (2019), Funeral (2020), and Hjem (2021).
Tom Has a Plant (2019)
Sound design: Sofie Birch
Supported by The Animation Workshop, Denmark.
Tom is living in a world where he doesn’t feel that he belongs, torn between staying or searching for a better place. On his last day, Tom decides to give all of his plants away to the ones he loves without knowing that they already have a secret plan for him.
Funeral (2020)
Sound design: Sofie Birch
Supported by The Open Workshop, Denmark.
From out of the universe, a little boy is born with a quest for a voyage to planet Earth. During his journey, he comes to an absurd small town where a mysterious funeral is happening. With curiosity, the boy attends the funeral to see who is dead.
Hjem (2021)
An ex-spaceman comes back to his planet Earth after a long decade of living on the Moon. He is now struggling with his new life and wondering where is home to him after all.
Contributor’s Bio
Thịnh Nguyễn (b.1993, Saigon) is an independent filmmaker currently living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark. He graduated with a BA in Character Animation at The Animation Workshop with her first short film Tom Has a Plant, which was selected at more than 20 film festivals internationally. Thịnh’s approach in animation filmmaking is an unusual mix of naive characters design and tragic subject in storytelling.
I believe Thịnh’s pronouns have changed. According to the website: “Thịnh Nguyễn is a Vietnamese animation filmmaker and designer currently based in Copenhagen. She has a deep passion in making films with limited animation style, naive character designs, yet sophisticated storytelling.” Also a podcast featuring her at https://comingoutofthecelluloidcloset.podbean.com/e/season-2-finale-finding-queerness-in-animation/ published in November 2021 uses “her”.
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