By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there's always more we can learn about them as people. This year, we decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
Christopher Jenkins has been working with animated films since the '80s, but he didn't venture into writing until 20 years later. I had no real training as a writer, but ever since I sat on my dad's knee to listen to his wonderful, colorful, and exceptionally funny stories, the desire to write my own screenplays has been a constant ambition, he says.
I'm an illustrator by training and nature. I became an effects animator because of chance, explains Jenkins. That chance was an opportunity to work on the animation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Jenkins would go on to animate for a host of family films - Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Klaus just to name a few - before extending his love of storytelling to the writing and directing spheres. His sophomore directing project - on which he also served as co-writer - premiered in the Family Matinee section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival to tears and laughter alike. Featuring the voices of Mo Gilligan, Simone Ashley, Bill Nighy, and more, 10 Lives follows a pampered house cat named Beckett as he returns to Earth on a mission to help Sophie, who rescued him as a kitten, after his nine lives are up.
And though this fantastical animated tale may seem like it's just for children, Jenkins knows that its message of living one's life to the fullest is a universal one. 10 Lives has something for every family and generation to watch and enjoy together, he says. Having said that, the selfish joy I have in seeing younger children laugh until they fold over is without measure. Being able to reach that kind of uncomplicated glee is sheer magic.
Read on to learn more about 10 Lives and its director, including Jenkins' inspiration behind the film and how he decided on the perfect person to voice Beckett the cat.
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