Kindred Spirits
(Status: in development)
Synopsis
An Irish refugee child alone in New York of 1847. A Choctaw son far from the warmth of his family. When their paths align, MARA and TUSHKA will journey through epic adventures and magical encounters, watched over by Mara’s brother DAN, who cannot accept his own passing into the spirit realm. Together they are searching for a people to call family and a place to call home. Exploring the historic bond between the Irish and Choctaw nations, Kindred Spirits is a film about grace, compassion, and humanity.
Kindred Spirits
Director: Tomm Moore
Scriptwriters: Shelley Dennis and Will Collins
Main Producer: Ailbhe McCabe (Cartoon Saloon, Ireland)
Co-Producer: Thibaut Ruby (Folivari, France)
Target audience: Family
Technique: 2D digital
Running Time: 90′
Kindred Spirits is the highly anticipated new film project from Tomm Moore, who previously directed the Irish folklore trilogy—each of which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. We interviewed Tomm Moore about the story behind the new film project.
Interview with Tomm Moore
Hideki Nagaishi (HN): Where did the initial idea of the film’s story come from?
Tomm Moore: It came because there was a fundraiser during the COVID-19 pandemic for Native American people, and a lot of Irish people remembered that Native Americans helped us back in 1845. When I read about that, that was where I got the original idea.
HN: Now you’re working with Shelley and Will to develop the story. You have been working with Will for quite a long years. I would like to hear about how and why Shelley joined this film project.
Tomm Moore : We wanted to incorporate the perspective of the Choctaw Nation into the film’s story. Since Shelley was already a screenwriter for the animation series Spirit Rangers (2022), she was the perfect choice. So, we asked her to join to bring the Choctaw voice into the film.
HN: How has the collaboration with Shelley been so far?
Tomm Moore : It’s been great so far. I mean, she’s really great with story. And we spent a bit of time in Oklahoma, and we met her family, and we went to the ‘powwow’ and met everybody in Oklahoma who is from the tribe. And we met the chief with Shelley, and he gave the project his blessing, which was really special.
HN: When you are writing the film’s story, what do you focus on the most, and what is challenging for you?
Tomm Moore : We really want to make the little girl the main character, and it’s very easy to make the older boys the main characters. So, the main challenge has been keeping the focus on the little girl to make sure that it’s a kids film first. That’s what we’ve mostly been working on.
HN: In terms of the visuals, you keep several visual styles from your previous films and also add some new styles. Could you please let us know what your main aim currently is in terms of the visual designs?
Tomm Moore : What we’d like to do is bring in influences from the different tribes across America. As the characters travel from New York to Oklahoma, we’d like to have influence from the local artwork of the local tribes so that each part of America has a slightly different style.
HN: I believe that developing a feature film is really tough and difficult, and you completed a great trilogy.
I want to know about your mental journey after completing the trilogy, and how you started this new creative journey.
Tomm Moore : I had basically decided I wasn’t going to direct anymore. I just wanted to draw and paint and stop directing. But then I got the idea for this, and then my partners in the studio said we could make another trilogy based on Irish people who met other nations and other cultures around the world. So, we started to develop some ideas for that. And then I was like, okay, here we go again.
