Mila

Director's Statement

Today, children continue to suffer the ravages of conflict in many places around the world. Their current plight is what moved me to take action. While it's civilians who are the first to be hit, it’s their children that are the last to be remembered. My wish is that “Mila” could be seen by as many people as possible, to help promote a societal shift in our understanding of what the real, long-term, generational cost of war is. If “Mila” could change even one decision-maker's mind about going to war, then all our efforts will have been worth it. What I wanted to show with this film is the strength and resilience that kids have, even when they are alone, abandoned and lost. I’m convinced that animation can be exploited as a vehicle for more meaningful messages. Hollywood might applaud socially relevant features, but it still views animation as essentially little more than “entertainment.” But it’s so much more powerful than that! It has such potential to affect fundamental change in how we approach each other, how we deal with societal challenges. Especially now, we need to exploit that potential as much as we can.