Poppy

Short Film (Full Length) – 2009

Parental Guidance

In short film Poppy, two Kiwi soldiers discover a baby in a muddy World War l trench. For one it will mean redemption amidst the hell of war. Inspired by real life events experienced by the great-grandfather of scriptwriter David Coyle, Poppy marked another computer-animated collaboration between director James Cunningham (Infection) and producer Paul Swadel. CGI is used to evoke a bleak Western Front landscape, on which the (motion-captured) human drama unfolds. Cunningham spent 4500+ hours making the film. It won acclaim at computer graphics conference Siggraph, and invites to the Telluride and South by Southwest festivals.

I think the medium of CGI has a lot more potential beyond just animations for kids and visual effects pyrotechnics. When partnered with strong stories and great acting it opens up possibilities in telling stories that might otherwise be too difficult or not possible at all.
– Director James Cunningham on why he chose to make Poppy using CGI