1. What was one of the most challenging moments you faced while making The Journey? Did this ‘setback’ change the direction of the final story?

Well, there are several challenges that I can mention, but if I want to choose one of them that affects the direction, I can talk about the music design process. The first time I presented my film for my graduation film, the timing was the same as you see now. Then after graduation, I decided to add more time to the film and change the timing a bit. It took several months; then I contacted my music designer. He was busy, so I waited for him to change the music himself. I have to mention that I really love his work. It took several months, and then we had some meetings about the timing and the change in the music. Unfortunately, he found a problem and said he couldn’t do the job. That was really not a good situation. So eventually, I found another respected music designer. He did the job, but I was not satisfied with the result of my animation, and I realised the timing was not satisfying too. So then again, I brought back the timing to the very first version and used the first music on that. This process took almost 9 months.

2. What was the biggest inspiration behind The Journey?

In 2021, the situation in my country was not good. There was so much pressure on people, both economically and socially. We heard bad news almost every day, and it felt like the hope for a better future was fading. Then came the news about Afghanistan, which felt like a sudden blow that extinguished the fire of my hope. Everything came to a halt for me; I felt unable to communicate and sought solace in sleep to escape reality. It was then that I heard a kind voice inside me asking if I wanted to go deeper into despair or see something else. Drawing on my knowledge of depression from my studies in psychology and self-awareness, I realised that this situation wasn't what I wanted. So, I chose to see something else. I opened my eyes and, strangely, grabbed my phone. On Instagram, I stumbled upon a post about the book "Happiness in Hard Times” by Andrew Matthews, from an account I wasn't even following. It felt like Instagram knew what I needed, as always. That post and the book ended up saving my life. I ordered the book and, after some time, found myself preparing a project based on the experience I had, albeit in a metaphorical way.

3. What message do you want the audience to take away from The Journey?

The journey of life has its ups and downs, sometimes the situation can be so intolerable that you want to go under your blanket and forget the real world. You can bury yourself in deep pain or you can listen to your inner voice asking you “what is the next right thing? What is the next right thing?” until you reach a bright point in your life.

4. What is one thing about animation that draws you to telling your stories in this medium?

I love illustration; animation is a joyful way to bring illustrations to life for me. The process of animation filmmaking is not just a job but also entertainment.