INTERVIEW: The Outgoing Nature Of “The Shyness Of Trees”

The Shyness of Trees is on the 98th Academy Awards Best Animated Short Film shortlist. It’s a drama about a daughter who visits her elderly mother, who is quite connected to nature. This Animation Scoop Interview is with the seven-person directing team of Sofiia Chuikovska, Loick Du Plessis D’Argentre, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras and Bingqing Shu. (This Email Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Q: What inspired you to create this film about the relationship between a daughter and a mother?

A: The initial idea came from Loick, whose parents are older than those of many people his age. He has already begun to confront the reality of his parents growing older. As a group, we developed the story from this starting point. Coming from different cultures and very different backgrounds, we combined our perspectives and eventually shaped this film. It explores themes of death, nature, and the emotional struggle children face when confronting the day their parents pass away.

Q: What do you love about nature, and what was it about nature that you wanted to explore in a deep way?

A: All of us in the group love nature. For us, it is nature as a whole: the beauty of plants and the diversity of life. We also wanted to explore the power of nature and the principles that govern it. In Chinese, this idea can be expressed as “道法自然,” meaning that everything follows the laws of nature. Birth, aging, illness, and death are natural processes, yet for each individual they bring profound change and struggle. We hoped to convey the weight of life while respecting the balance inherent in nature.

Q: What were your goals with the pacing of the story?

A: This story was made both for the audience and for ourselves. I believe every team member has their own unique interpretation of it. Rather than setting a specific goal, we wanted to sincerely present what we felt and create an animated short that truly represents us. More than anything, our aim was to be honest and to do our very best with this film.

Q: How was the experience of working on this film as a team?

A: Creative differences were something we encountered from time to time, but each member of our team is highly skilled in a particular part of the animation pipeline. Because of this, our collaboration during production was very smooth. The main challenges happened during the early creative stage, when ideas required repeated discussion and refinement. Once we moved into mid production and post production, the process became much smoother.

Q: How emotional was it creating some of the sequences, especially towards the end?

A: We put a great deal of thought into the final lines of dialogue and struggled with whether the character should say “I love you.” In both France and China or Ukraine, it is often difficult for children to express these words easily to their parents. In the end, we decided by vote to replace “I love you” with “goodbye,” allowing it to carry that deep, unspoken love and blessing as the final line.

Q: How did it feel receiving the Bronze honor for Animation at the recent Student Academy Awards?

A: We were extremely surprised. Whether it was receiving the Student Academy Award Bronze for Animation or the other awards we have received so far, we feel deeply grateful and amazed, as none of this was expected. The trip to New York also brought the entire team together again, and for all of us, it was a truly special and memorable life experience.

Q: What would an Oscar nomination for “The Shyness of Trees” mean to you?

A: It would bring the same feelings of surprise and gratitude. An Oscar nomination would be a great encouragement for us to continue telling our own stories.