An Interview with Neeraja Raj
Neeraja Raj is a director, writer, animator, and storyteller. In her film Meow or Never (2020), she tells the story of cat-astronaut Pucha who is searching for the answers to life’s most pressing questions. Being longlisted by BIFA and featured at this months BFI Future Film Festival. In this interview, Neeraja talks us through this delightful, award winning tale of discovery and friendship, as well as telling us what it’s like to work in the world of animated films.
Congratulations on being on the BIFA longlist for your film, Meow or Never! Can you tell us some more about this film?
Thank you so much! Meow or Never is a madcap musical in which a catstronaut, Pucha, travels the galaxy looking for the meaning of life with the aid of her A I spaceship. She arrives on a planet believing to find the answer on it, only to encounter a space pup. The pup, Blip, is eager to help but accidentally messes everything up by causing her spaceship to take off and land on the other side of the planet…a seemingly impossible quest to discover the meaning of life ensues. As Pucha discovers a whole world beyond the closed quarters of her spaceship as she meets creatures from different walks of life and ideologies, she realizes that the answer to the meaning of life might not be so simple and clear cut after all.
Meow or Never is a highly personal story to me as it's a kooky amalgamation of my existential angst and my happy-go-lucky spirit, stitched together with my love of musicals. It is also a love letter to my dearest friends, an exploration of our friendships. I strongly believe that all types of love need to be highlighted in the media more, so this film really conveys these different types of love.
What does being on the BIFA longlist mean for you and your career?
Meow or Never has received many awards in 2020, which I am grateful for. It was shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards in May 2020. Then, it won Best Film at the Women in Animation 2020 Showcase, which was covered by Variety magazine, Skwigly magazine, Animation magazine, to say a few. However, it is honestly such a thrill to say that Meow or Never is part of the BIFA longlist. It came as a nice surprise for me to find out that it is the only animated film to be selected for the longlist. I am very grateful to the British Independent Film Awards for recognizing that animation films too are a valid conduit to tell good tales, just as much as live-action. Also, it is a very nice feeling to be acknowledged by film institutes and organizations decades older than I am and to be assured that I'm on the right track. When I was making the film, I didn’t really ever imagine it to win awards. I just wanted to make a film I enjoyed – and hopefully, maybe a couple of other people would, too!
What is it about animation that made you want to pursue a career making films of this genre?
Animation is inhibited only by one’s imagination – nothing else. Ever since I was a child, I’ve had these fantastical characters and worlds in my head, creatures that didn’t exist in real life and places too wild - but through drawings, I could essentially, play God and bring them to life. This is probably my favourite aspect of telling stories through this medium. Like the great Brad Bird once said, “…Animation is not a genre. It is a method of storytelling”. People are constantly analyzing it and misanalysing it as if it is a genre. It isn’t a genre. It could do horror films, it could do adult comedies if it wanted to, it could do fairy tales, it could do science fiction, it could do musicals, it could mystery, it can do anything. With animation, I could essentially do anything!
(From the creation of Meow or Never 2020, via Nexus Studios)
Following that, do you think animation is a genre which offers unique opportunities for storytelling?
Definitely. An added perk of using animation is that, when you’re a novice first starting out in the art of storytelling, oftentimes you don’t have the funds to – for example – hire a crane camera to shoot a particularly important chase sequence in your film. However, with animation, you could just draw that top shot. Or model a tiny set of your location and place a normal camera up high to get that angle. The possibilities are endless!
I wanted to make Meow or Never in stop-motion because there's a tactile realism to it unparalleled by any other animation medium. I liked the idea of being able to push and pull and stretch my characters in real time to have them act the way I'd like, instead of having to navigate that through a computer screen, which would have been the case had I made it in 3D. While that can be fun as well, Meow or Nevers’ strengths lie in its beautiful paper world and its handmade, tangible characters. The flaws and imperfections that come with filming in stop-motion adds to its authenticity - it adds to the palpable quality of Pucha and Blip, with how their fur and fluff glint under real light, how they bend and bounce to gravity. There's also an inherent weirdness to stop-motion which I wanted to tap into. All of this helped me decide that stop frame was the way to go for the main storyline.
(Still from Meow or Never, 2020, via Nexus Studios)
What is your creative process like when it comes to making an animation – is it the story that comes to your first, or perhaps it is a character that you get an idea for and then choose to centre the narrative around them?
I struggle with my ideas in the beginning and somehow through the process I find the story I truly want to tell, and how I'd like to tell it. It's all about the journey and not the destination, isn't that what they say? I usually start out creating messy thumbnails that just convey the bare minimum of the idea of the story. This ensures that other people can understand what it is I'm trying to say. Oftentimes at this stage, I wouldn't have the medium in place yet. I find it to be a very interesting process; picking these wavering and floaty ideas out of the canvas of my brain to put to paper and conveying it to others... If I get to make them feel the same way I feel about the narrative, that's a win. That's the focus for me, at the start.
I also spend a lot of time looking at films that I love and analyzing what makes them tick. For example, for Meow or Never, I kept watching films to refer back to for inspiration, such as Waking Life by Richard Linklater, Anomalisa by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman, Negative Space by Max Porter and Ru Kuwuhata and more. This helps me clarify my narrative more, by seeing other filmmakers do what they do best – I learn a lot from them this way.
Are there any specific kinds of stories or narratives which you like to convey in your work?
I know that many artists have this feeling of needing to have an identifiable style, and while I can understand that thought, I'm not sure it's the path for me. I dislike being pigeon-holed into a certain corner of art and film-making and the last thing I would want for myself is being typecast to a certain tone or genre. Personally, I love growing and the only way one does is when one is exposed to new ideas, themes, and explorations. As such, I enjoy making art in a variety of genres: horror, comedy, romance, and I make a lot of gruesome artwork too. One of my favorite artists is David Shrigley and when I told one of my tutors, it astonished him! Above all, I think I like being unbound, and I like surprising people.
(Still from Meow or Never, 2020, via Nexus Studios)
What do you hope to achieve, creatively, in 2021?
I hope to be less critical of myself in terms of my creativity. A lot of the time, I put all of myself into a particular piece and if it doesn’t come out exactly as I’ve envisioned it to be, I’m so harsh on myself. An artist’s worst critic is definitely themselves! Apart from that, I hope to expand on Meow or Never in 2021. I am currently working on a series adaptation of Meow or Never with the Original Content team at Nexus Studios. I believe Pucha and Blip are larger-than-life characters… I can imagine them continuing their search and solving other impossible, universal questions. I'd also love to explore the juxtaposition between such cute and aesthetically pleasing characters alongside adult issues; I really enjoy toeing that line and exploring new boundaries. The future looks fun and I am crossing my fingers for 2021!
Finally, what other projects do you have going on?
I am currently working on a couple of really fun projects, though most of which I have to keep under wraps! One is an upcoming high-profile short film that I’m directing, with renowned production studio Nexus Studios with bases in LA, London, and Sydney. They recently signed me onto their roster as a Director and it’s been a beautiful ride so far — I am honoured to be working with such a talented group of people. On the side-lines, in the little spare time I get, I’ve also decided to invest time in my other love — making music! I’ve been collaborating with some producer folks and will hopefully get to reveal some singles very soon.
I’ve also had my first commission since signing with Nexus Studios. For this, I’ve created a film ‘Don’t Panic’ for WaterAid, where I draw attention to the issue of people not having clean water. The film also features a new version of David Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars’ and a voiceover by Sir Trever McDonald, so this is an exciting new project!
Where to find Neeraja and her work –
Her site – https://www.neerajaraj.com/
Don’t Panic, 2021 – https://vimeo.com/508079356
Meow or Never, 2020 - https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-meow-or-never-2020-online
The Nexus Studios Site –
Nexus Studios – https://nexusstudios.com/
