Synopsis: Origami is the story of a man who loses his beloved wife. In his sorrow, the man dives into origami – his deceased wife’s passion – trying to find comfort in the paper world he is creating. His new passion becomes an obsession that takes a sudden turn when his paper figures start coming alive.

Language

Run Time

Directed by

Written by

Produced by

Executive Producer

Origami is Zajno’s very first animated film and that’s why it will always be special to us. We have made in collaboration with Altrüus, an experiential gifting platform. Francisco Bonilla Kuhlmann, CEO of Altrüus and our old friend, reached us out one day with an unusual request. He said that his mother is a short story writer and that it would be a great Birthday present for her if we turned one of her stories into an animated short film. On hearing that our team got super excited as we love creative projects and making a cartoon is as creative and thrilling as it gets.
We started by adapting the story into a screenplay. Just like in the original script, we kept the ending open, allowing the audience to reach their own conclusions. We were thrilled by how many different interpretations the viewers have already had. We think it is beautiful that our film can give food for thought or even spark a philosophical discussion.
As the story is set in Japan, one of our core objectives was to capture the essence of Japanese culture and translate it through visual and musical tools. Our digital artist and motion designer did their best at creating and animating a hundred unique illustrations. But this was only half of the job.
We all know how much depends on good sound design. This is especially true for films without speech where music is largely responsible for creating the right atmosphere and emotional context. That’s why we spared no effort in composing a powerful soundtrack going through multiple iterations and using various music instruments including some authentic Japanese ones. As a result, we got a tune that could tell the story on its own, which added a lot of impact to the overall effect the film creates.
Origami has become the most special project we have ever worked on here at Zajno. It is our first animated film and we are certain that it won’t be our last.

Zajno is a digital design and development studio that creates unconventional experiences, websites and apps with cutting-edge custom graphics, photos, videos, and animations. We are a cozy team of 25 individuals united by a passion for what we do and the same values. Origami is our first animation film and it has already become one of our favorite projects.

Production Year