Synopsis
Poppy is a Performance-Captured CGI drama set on France's western front in World War One. Two New Zealand soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines and are trying to find their way to safety. They find an orphaned baby under its dead parents in a ditch. One of the men wants to save it, the other does not.

Based on true events, Poppy was written by the great-grandson of one of these soldiers.

About the Film and the Director
Writer David Coyle was 18 years old and a student when he wrote Poppy. After discovering the script, Director James Cunningham was determined to turn it into an emotive, affecting and dramatic CGI animation.

A labour of love, Poppy took 15 months to make, including a one day shoot at Weta Digital in Wellington (on Peter Jackson's new Motion Capture sound stage).

Director James Cunningham has written, directed and animated three award winning theatrical shorts before Poppy. All of these films explored James’ vision of what programs, as characters, might look like within computers and digital space.

Infection, one of the most successful short films ever made in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, competed at the Cannes International Film Festival 2000, Sundance Film Festival 2001 and 20 other international Film Festivals. Delf was selected for the Saatchi & Saatchi new directors Global showcase in 2000 and won numerous awards.

Cunningham is Head of 3D at one of New Zealand’s premiere Post Production houses, Digital Post. He was a Technical Director on The Lord of the Rings at Weta Digital Ltd.

James Cunningham on Poppy: “Poppy is a small and delicate story that is not like most war films..... by taking away all the complexity of a live-action WWI film, I felt that the visual stylisations of animation could get to the heart of this small story, the heart of it’s characters, and make for a stronger film.”

Director: James Cunningham
Writer: David Coyle
Cast: Matthew Sunderland, Paul Glover, Camille Keenan, Marek Sumich
Year: 2009
Language: English with Chinese subtitles
Duration: 11 mins
Category: IIA

Festival – Highlight
New Zealand Film & TV Awards 2009 – Outstanding Technical Contribution to a Short Film
Telluride Film Festival, USA 2009

故事簡介：
我曾祖父的抉擇採用電腦生成影像「表演捕捉」技術拍攝而成。故事發生於第一次世界大戰法國西部前線，兩名新西蘭士兵被困於敵軍戰線上，在尋找生路的同時，在溝壕裡發現一名在其已死去父母身體下，竟然還生存的嬰孩孤兒。其中一人想救嬰兒，另一人卻不願意……

影片改編自真人真事，編劇正是其中一名士兵的曾孫。

導演與製作：
編劇大衛‧高爾十八歲當學生時寫了我曾祖父的抉擇。導演占士‧根寧函發現了這個劇本後，決心把它製作成有聲有色、深刻動人的電腦生成影像戲劇。

這部片是導演慢工細貨之作，雖然在威靈頓維塔數碼工作室的拍攝只需一天（拍攝使用了彼得‧積遜新穎的影音製作設施），但後期製作卻共花了十五個月。

導演占士‧根寧函在此之前曾經編／導／製作了三部獲獎動畫戲劇短片。他視電腦程式如同電影角色，想像它們在電腦和數碼空間之中，可能會是甚麼樣子。

他的其中一部作品Infection在2000年康城國際影展、2001年辛丹士電影節及其他二十個國際電影節參賽。Infection是新西蘭電影局最成功的短片之一。另一部作品Delf（『數碼製造的生命形式』）於2000年獲Saatchi & Saatchi選為國際新晉導演傑作，並且贏得多個獎項。

根寧函掌管現今新西蘭頂尖後期製作公司Post Production的3D部門。他較早前任職維塔數碼的時候，曾擔當魔戒三部曲的技術總監。

占士‧根寧函談我曾祖父的抉擇：『這是一個短小細緻的故事，與一般戰爭片不同……剔除了所有第一次世界大戰動作片的複雜元素後，我覺得動畫的視覺格調更能呈現這個小故事的精髓，表達角色的內心世界，令本片更有感染力。』

導演：占士‧根寧函
編劇：大衛‧高爾
演員：馬佛‧辛德蘭、保羅‧高化、卡謬‧堅南、馬域‧蘇覓治
年分：2009
語言：英語附中文字幕
片長：11分鐘
級數 : IIA

參展及提名（摘要）：
新西蘭影視獎2009－卓越技術貢獻（短片）
美國特柳賴德電影節2009