Running Time: 04 minutes 21 seconds Production Country: Canada Production Year: 2013 June Director and Producer: Alisi Telengut Film Contact: Alisi Telengut Film Synopsis Logline: A mother camel rejects her baby after a painful childbirth. Short Synopsis: A profound human-animal and human-nature relationship is represented by a painted world filled with a camel's emotion and tears. It is based on a real Mongolian nomadic story narrated by my grandmother. Short Synopsis (Français): Ce film d’animation expérimentale est basé sur l’histoire vraie de nomades mongoles. Narré par ma grand-mère, il raconte la relation profonde entre l’homme et les animaux mis en scène dans un monde transformé par les larmes et les émotions d’une chamelle. Film Credits Animated and Directed by: Alisi Telengut Sound Design: David Fiorentino Narration and Singing: My little grandmother Qirima Music: Dogee Mountain, Album Eternal by Huun Huur Tu & Carmen Rizzo Sound Mix: Tim Horlor, Andreas Mendritzki Supervisor: Shira Avni Special Thanks: Shira Avni, Réne Daigle, Charlene Pommerehnke, David Fiorentino, Huun-Huur-Tu & Carmen Rizzo, My families and friends.

Alisi Telengut, born in 1989, creates animation frame by frame under the camera, with painting as the medium, to generate movement and explore hand-made and painterly visuals for her films. Her works have been culturally engaged and focus on nomadic ethnic minorities. Her recent films received awards, have been screened in various worldwide film venues and exhibitions as moving image artworks, and have also contributed to enthnographic research.

Filmmaker Q&A

Filmmaker Q&A for the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (2014 November in York, UK):
http://www.asff.co.uk/qa-asff-2014-filmmaker-alisi-telengut-tears-inge/
1. Tears of Inge is based on a Mongolian nomadic story. What inspired you to tell this
profound tale of a human-nature relationship?
My grandmother did the narration and singing in the film. I was greatly influenced by my
grandparents who used to live as nomads on the Mongolian grassland and they told me
lots of stories and legends about nomadic life. Since this particular life style is gradually
disappearing, I want to represent the human-animal, human-nature relationship and
nomadic traditions with animation as my medium.
2. The animation short is entirely hand-painted. Why did you decide to use this
medium?
The film was made with the under-camera direct animation technique and it was painted
frame-by-frame on a single piece of paper mainly with oil pastels. The movement was
achieved by removing and adding colors every frame. I think it’s a way of time lapse
photography of painting. I chose this particular technique because I like working with
colors. I was influenced by my mother who wanted to become a painter. I remember we
used to take a walk in the woods, and I was fascinated whenever I saw the colors and
lights of trees changing with the sunlight. I always wanted to capture the stunning
moments of the sceneries that had imprinted in my brain.
3. Did you encounter any difficulties during the project?
From the idea development, research, till the actual filming, making Tears of Inge
required lots of patience and time in solitude. I had to spend lots of time animating and
shooting in a dark room. Also, because of the straight-ahead animation technique, I
could barely go back to reshoot a frame when I made a mistake during the filming
process. I had to live with the mistakes and tried to find ways to save them from getting
worse.
4. In your opinion, can traditional rituals or stories survive in modern-day societies?
Traditional rituals and stories often have spiritual, meaningful and social goals. Even
though they have survived in modern societies in a reduced level, I think people always
have interests in reviving traditions in their cultures.
5. Do you have any upcoming projects?
Currently I’m working on an animated film based on the history and memories of the
Kalmyk ethnic minority. It’s a lyrical representation of their diasporic and transnational
identity. It will be completed in the summer of 2015.